Integer Quantum Hall Transition and Random SU(N) Rotation

We reduce the problem of integer quantum Hall transition to a random rotation of an N-dimensional vector by an su(N) algebra, where only N specially selected generators of the algebra are nonzero. The group-theoretical structure revealed in this way allows us to obtain a new series of conservation laws for the equation describing the electron density evolution in the lowest Landau level. The resulting formalism is particularly well suited to numerical simulations, allowing us to obtain the critical exponent \nu numerically in a very simple way. We also suggest that if the number of nonzero generators is much less than N, the same model, in a certain intermediate time interval, describes percolating properties of a random incompressible steady two-dimensional flow. In other words, quantum Hall transition in a very smooth random potential inherits certain properties of percolation.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figur

Energy transport in disordered classical spin chains

We present a numerical study of the diffusion of energy at high temperature in strongly disordered chains of interacting classical spins evolving deterministically. We find that quenched randomness strongly suppresses transport with the diffusion constant becoming reduced by several orders of magnitude upon the introduction of moderate disorder. We have also looked for but not found signs of a classical many-body localization transition at any nonzero strength of the spin-spin interactions

Towards a statistical theory of transport by strongly-interacting lattice fermions

We present a study of electric transport at high temperature in a model of strongly interacting spinless fermions without disorder. We use exact diagonalization to study the statistics of the energy eigenvalues, eigenstates, and the matrix elements of the current. These suggest that our nonrandom Hamiltonian behaves like a member of a certain ensemble of Gaussian random matrices. We calculate the conductivity $\sigma(\omega)$ and examine its behavior, both in finite size samples and as extrapolated to the thermodynamic limit. We find that $\sigma(\omega)$ has a prominent non-divergent singularity at $\omega=0$ reflecting a power-law long-time tail in the current autocorrelation function that arises from nonlinear couplings between the long-wavelength diffusive modes of the energy and particle number

Nernst effect, quasiparticles, and d-density waves in cuprates

We examine the possibility that the large Nernst signal observed in the pseudogap regime of hole-doped cuprates originates from quasiparticle transport in a state with d-density wave (DDW) order, proposed by S. Chakravarty et al. [Phys. Rev. B 63, 094503 (2001)]. We find that the Nernst coefficient can be moderately enhanced in magnitude by DDW order, and is generally of negative sign. Thus, the quasiparticles of the DDW state cannot account for the large and positive Nernst signal observed in the pseudogap phase of the cuprates. However, the general considerations outlined in this paper may be of broader relevance, in particular to the recent measurements of Bel et al. in NbSe_2 and CeCoIn_5 [Phys. Rev. Lett. 91, 066602 (2003); ibid. 92, 217002 (2004)].Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures; published versio