Conductance distributions in disordered quantum spin-Hall systems

We study numerically the charge conductance distributions of disordered quantum spin-Hall (QSH) systems using a quantum network model. We have found that the conductance distribution at the metal-QSH insulator transition is clearly different from that at the metal-ordinary insulator transition. Thus the critical conductance distribution is sensitive not only to the boundary condition but also to the presence of edge states in the adjacent insulating phase. We have also calculated the point-contact conductance. Even when the two-terminal conductance is approximately quantized, we find large fluctuations in the point-contact conductance. Furthermore, we have found a semi-circular relation between the average of the point-contact conductance and its fluctuation.Comment: 9 pages, 17 figures, published versio

Transmission eigenvalues and the bare conductance in the crossover to Anderson localization

We measure the field transmission matrix t for microwave radiation propagating through random waveguides in the crossover to Anderson localization. From these measurements, we determine the dimensionless conductance, g, and the individual eigenvalues $\tau_n$ of the transmission matrix $tt^\dagger$ whose sum equals g. In diffusive samples, the highest eigenvalue, $\tau_1$, is close to unity corresponding to a transmission of nearly 100%, while for localized waves, the average of $\tau_1$, is nearly equal to g. We find that the spacing between average values of $\ln\tau_n$ is constant and demonstrate that when surface interactions are taken into account it is equal to the inverse of the bare conductance.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure

Anderson localization from the replica formalism

We study Anderson localization in quasi--one--dimensional disordered wires within the framework of the replica $\sigma$--model. Applying a semiclassical approach (geodesic action plus Gaussian fluctuations) recently introduced within the context of supersymmetry by Lamacraft, Simons and Zirnbauer \cite{LSZ}, we compute the {\em exact} density of transmission matrix eigenvalues of superconducting wires (of symmetry class $C$I.) For the unitary class of metallic systems (class $A$) we are able to obtain the density function, save for its large transmission tail.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figur

Flux Dependence of Persistent Current in a Mesoscopic Disordered Tight Binding Ring

We reconsider the study of persistent currents in a disordered one-dimensional ring threaded by a magnetic flux, using he one-band tight-binding model for a ring of N-sites with random site energies. The secular equation for the eigenenergies expressed in terms of transfer matrices in the site representation is solved exactly to second order in a perturbation theory for weak disorder and fluxes differing from half-integer multiples of the elementary flux quantum. From the equilibrium currents associated with the one-electron eigenstates we derive closed analytic expressions for the disorder averaged persistent current for even and odd numbers, Ne, of electrons in the ground state. Explicit discussion for the half-filled band case confirms that the persistent current is flux periodic as in the absence of disorder, and that its amplitude is generally suppressed by the effect of the disorder. In comparison to previous results, based on an approximate analysis of the secular equation, the current suppression by disorder is strongly enhanced by a new flux-dependent factor.Comment: 15 pages, LaTex 2

Inhomogeneous Fixed Point Ensembles Revisited

The density of states of disordered systems in the Wigner-Dyson classes approaches some finite non-zero value at the mobility edge, whereas the density of states in systems of the chiral and Bogolubov-de Gennes classes shows a divergent or vanishing behavior in the band centre. Such types of behavior were classified as homogeneous and inhomogeneous fixed point ensembles within a real-space renormalization group approach. For the latter ensembles the scaling law $\mu=d\nu-1$ was derived for the power laws of the density of states $\rho\propto|E|^\mu$ and of the localization length $\xi\propto|E|^{-\nu}$. This prediction from 1976 is checked against explicit results obtained meanwhile.Comment: Submitted to 'World Scientific' for the volume 'Fifty Years of Anderson Localization'. 12 page

Localization in disordered superconducting wires with broken spin-rotation symmetry

Localization and delocalization of non-interacting quasiparticle states in a superconducting wire are reconsidered, for the cases in which spin-rotation symmetry is absent, and time-reversal symmetry is either broken or unbroken; these are referred to as symmetry classes BD and DIII, respectively. We show that, if a continuum limit is taken to obtain a Fokker-Planck (FP) equation for the transfer matrix, as in some previous work, then when there are more than two scattering channels, all terms that break a certain symmetry are lost. It was already known that the resulting FP equation exhibits critical behavior. The additional symmetry is not required by the definition of the symmetry classes; terms that break it arise from non-Gaussian probability distributions, and may be kept in a generalized FP equation. We show that they lead to localization in a long wire. When the wire has more than two scattering channels, these terms are irrelevant at the short distance (diffusive or ballistic) fixed point, but as they are relevant at the long-distance critical fixed point, they are termed dangerously irrelevant. We confirm the results in a supersymmetry approach for class BD, where the additional terms correspond to jumps between the two components of the sigma model target space. We consider the effect of random $\pi$ fluxes, which prevent the system localizing. We show that in one dimension the transitions in these two symmetry classes, and also those in the three chiral symmetry classes, all lie in the same universality class

Higher-order mesoscopic fluctuations in quantum wires: Conductance and current cumulants

We study conductance cumulants $>$ and current cumulants $C_j$ related to heat and electrical transport in coherent mesoscopic quantum wires near the diffusive regime. We consider the asymptotic behavior in the limit where the number of channels and the length of the wire in the units of the mean free path are large but the bare conductance is fixed. A recursion equation unifying the descriptions of the standard and Bogoliubov--de Gennes (BdG) symmetry classes is presented. We give values and come up with a novel scaling form for the higher-order conductance cumulants. In the BdG wires, in the presence of time-reversal symmetry, for the cumulants higher than the second it is found that there may be only contributions which depend nonanalytically on the wire length. This indicates that diagrammatic or semiclassical pictures do not adequately describe higher-order spectral correlations. Moreover, we obtain the weak-localization corrections to $C_j$ with $j\le 10$.Comment: 7 page

Nonchiral Edge States at the Chiral Metal Insulator Transition in Disordered Quantum Hall Wires

The quantum phase diagram of disordered wires in a strong magnetic field is studied as a function of wire width and energy. The two-terminal conductance shows zero-temperature discontinuous transitions between exactly integer plateau values and zero. In the vicinity of this transition, the chiral metal-insulator transition (CMIT), states are identified that are superpositions of edge states with opposite chirality. The bulk contribution of such states is found to decrease with increasing wire width. Based on exact diagonalization results for the eigenstates and their participation ratios, we conclude that these states are characteristic for the CMIT, have the appearance of nonchiral edges states, and are thereby distinguishable from other states in the quantum Hall wire, namely, extended edge states, two-dimensionally (2D) localized, quasi-1D localized, and 2D critical states.Comment: replaced with revised versio

Ballistic transport in disordered graphene

An analytic theory of electron transport in disordered graphene in a ballistic geometry is developed. We consider a sample of a large width W and analyze the evolution of the conductance, the shot noise, and the full statistics of the charge transfer with increasing length L, both at the Dirac point and at a finite gate voltage. The transfer matrix approach combined with the disorder perturbation theory and the renormalization group is used. We also discuss the crossover to the diffusive regime and construct a ``phase diagram'' of various transport regimes in graphene.Comment: 23 pages, 10 figure

Quantum Transparency of Anderson Insulator Junctions: Statistics of Transmission Eigenvalues, Shot Noise, and Proximity Conductance

We investigate quantum transport through strongly disordered barriers, made of a material with exceptionally high resistivity that behaves as an Anderson insulator or a ``bad metal'' in the bulk, by analyzing the distribution of Landauer transmission eigenvalues for a junction where such barrier is attached to two clean metallic leads. We find that scaling of the transmission eigenvalue distribution with the junction thickness (starting from the single interface limit) always predicts a non-zero probability to find high transmission channels even in relatively thick barriers. Using this distribution, we compute the zero frequency shot noise power (as well as its sample-to-sample fluctuations) and demonstrate how it provides a single number characterization of non-trivial transmission properties of different types of disordered barriers. The appearance of open conducting channels, whose transmission eigenvalue is close to one, and corresponding violent mesoscopic fluctuations of transport quantities explain at least some of the peculiar zero-bias anomalies in the Anderson-insulator/superconductor junctions observed in recent experiments [Phys. Rev. B {\bf 61}, 13037 (2000)]. Our findings are also relevant for the understanding of the role of defects that can undermine quality of thin tunnel barriers made of conventional band-insulators.Comment: 9 pages, 8 color EPS figures; one additional figure on mesoscopic fluctuations of Fano facto