Effect of spin on electron motion in a random magnetic field

We consider properties of a two-dimensional electron system in a random magnetic field. It is assumed that the magnetic field not only influences orbital electron motion but also acts on the electron spin. For calculations, we suggest a new trick replacing the initial Hamiltonian by a Dirac Hamiltonian. This allows us to do easily a perturbation theory and derive a supermatrix sigma model, which takes a form of the conventional sigma model with the unitary symmetry. Using this sigma model we calculate several correlation functions including a spin-spin correlation function. As compared to the model without spin, we get different expressions for the single-particle lifetime and the transport time. The diffusion constant turns out to be 2 times smaller than the one for spinless particles.Comment: 7 pages, revtex, result of the spin correlation function corrected, Appendix adde

Ballistic electron motion in a random magnetic field

Using a new scheme of the derivation of the non-linear $\sigma$-model we consider the electron motion in a random magnetic field (RMF) in two dimensions. The derivation is based on writing quasiclassical equations and representing their solutions in terms of a functional integral over supermatrices $Q$ with the constraint $Q^2=1$. Contrary to the standard scheme, neither singling out slow modes nor saddle-point approximation are used. The $\sigma$-model obtained is applicable at the length scale down to the electron wavelength. We show that this model differs from the model with a random potential (RP).However, after averaging over fluctuations in the Lyapunov region the standard $\sigma$-model is obtained leading to the conventional localization behavior.Comment: 10 pages, no figures, to be submitted in PRB v2: Section IV is remove

Field Theory of Mesoscopic Fluctuations in Superconductor/Normal-Metal Systems

Thermodynamic and transport properties of normal disordered conductors are strongly influenced by the proximity of a superconductor. A cooperation between mesoscopic coherence and Andreev scattering of particles from the superconductor generates new types of interference phenomena. We introduce a field theoretic approach capable of exploring both averaged properties and mesoscopic fluctuations of superconductor/normal-metal systems. As an example the method is applied to the study of the level statistics of a SNS-junction.Comment: 4 pages, REVTEX, two eps-figures included; submitted to JETP letter

Ehrenfest time dependent suppression of weak localization

The Ehrenfest time dependence of the suppression of the weak localization correction to the conductance of a {\em clean} chaotic cavity is calculated. Unlike in earlier work, no impurity scattering is invoked to imitate diffraction effects. The calculation extends the semiclassical theory of K. Richter and M. Sieber [Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 89}, 206801 (2002)] to include the effect of a finite Ehrenfest time.Comment: 3 Pages, 1 Figure, RevTe

Antilocalization in a 2D Electron Gas in a Random Magnetic Field

We construct a supersymmetric field theory for the problem of a two-dimensional electron gas in a random, static magnetic field. We find a new term in the free energy, additional to those present in the conventional unitary sigma-model, whose presence relies on the long-range nature of the disorder correlations. Under a perturbative renormalization group analysis of the free energy, the new term contributes to the scaling function at one-loop order and leads to antilocalization.Comment: 4 pages, RevTe

Energy-level correlations in chiral symmetric disordered systems: Corrections to the universal results

We investigate the deviation of the level-correlation functions from the universal form for the chiral symmetric classes. Using the supersymmetric nonlinear sigma model we formulate the perturbation theory. The large energy behavior is compared with the result of the diagrammatic perturbation theory. We have the diffuson and cooperon contributions even in the average density of states. For the unitary and orthogonal classes we get the small energy behavior that suggests a weakening of the level repulsion. For the symplectic case we get a result with opposite tendency.Comment: 7 pages, revtex, 2 eps figures, references added, some minor change

Hidden degree of freedom and critical states in a two-dimensional electron gas in the presence of a random magnetic field

We establish the existence of a hidden degree of freedom and the critical states of a spinless electron system in a spatially-correlated random magnetic field with vanishing mean. Whereas the critical states are carried by the zero-field contours of the field landscape, the hidden degree of freedom is recognized as being associated with the formation of vortices in these special contours. It is argued that, as opposed to the coherent backscattering mechanism of weak localization, a new type of scattering processes in the contours controls the underlying physics of localization in the random magnetic field system. In addition, we investigate the role of vortices in governing the metal-insulator transition and propose a renormalization-group diagram for the system under study.Comment: 17 pages, 16 figures; Figs. 1, 7, 9, and 10 have been reduced in quality for e-submissio

Weak Localization and Integer Quantum Hall Effect in a Periodic Potential

We consider magnetotransport in a disordered two-dimensional electron gas in the presence of a periodic modulation in one direction. Existing quasiclassical and quantum approaches to this problem account for Weiss oscillations in the resistivity tensor at moderate magnetic fields, as well as a strong modulation-induced modification of the Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations at higher magnetic fields. They do not account, however, for the operation at even higher magnetic fields of the integer quantum Hall effect, for which quantum interference processes are responsible. We then introduce a field-theory approach, based on a nonlinear sigma model, which encompasses naturally both the quasiclassical and quantum-mechanical approaches, as well as providing a consistent means of extending them to include quantum interference corrections. A perturbative renormalization-group analysis of the field theory shows how weak localization corrections to the conductivity tensor may be described by a modification of the usual one-parameter scaling, such as to accommodate the anisotropy of the bare conductivity tensor. We also show how the two-parameter scaling, conjectured as a model for the quantum Hall effect in unmodulated systems, may be generalized similarly for the modulated system. Within this model we illustrate the operation of the quantum Hall effect in modulated systems for parameters that are realistic for current experiments.Comment: 15 pages, 4 figures, ReVTeX; revised version with condensed introduction; two figures taken out; reference adde

Quantum interference and the formation of the proximity effect in chaotic normal-metal/superconducting structures

We discuss a number of basic physical mechanisms relevant to the formation of the proximity effect in superconductor/normal metal (SN) systems. Specifically, we review why the proximity effect sharply discriminates between systems with integrable and chaotic dynamics, respectively, and how this feature can be incorporated into theories of SN systems. Turning to less well investigated terrain, we discuss the impact of quantum diffractive scattering on the structure of the density of states in the normal region. We consider ballistic systems weakly disordered by pointlike impurities as a test case and demonstrate that diffractive processes akin to normal metal weak localization lead to the formation of a hard spectral gap -- a hallmark of SN systems with chaotic dynamics. Turning to the more difficult case of clean systems with chaotic boundary scattering, we argue that semiclassical approaches, based on classifications in terms of classical trajectories, cannot explain the gap phenomenon. Employing an alternative formalism based on elements of quasiclassics and the ballistic $\sigma$-model, we demonstrate that the inverse of the so-called Ehrenfest time is the relevant energy scale in this context. We discuss some fundamental difficulties related to the formulation of low energy theories of mesoscopic chaotic systems in general and how they prevent us from analysing the gap structure in a rigorous manner. Given these difficulties, we argue that the proximity effect represents a basic and challenging test phenomenon for theories of quantum chaotic systems.Comment: 21 pages (two-column), 6 figures; references adde