Universal Scaling of Strong-Field Localization in an Integer Quantum Hall Liquid

We study the Landau level localization and scaling properties of a disordered two-dimensional electron gas in the presence of a strong external magnetic field. The impurities are treated as random distributed scattering centers with parameterized potentials. Using a transfer matrix for a finite-width strip geometry, we calculate the localization length as a function of system size and electron energy. The finite-size localization length is determined by calculating the Lyapunov exponents of the transfer matrix. A detailed finite-size scaling analysis is used to study the critical behavior near the center of the Landau bands. The influence of varying the impurity concentration, the scattering potential range and its nature, and the Landau level index on the scaling behavior and on the critical exponent is systematically investigated. Particular emphasis is put on studying the effects of finite range of the disorder potential and Landau level coupling on the quantum localization behavior. Our numerical results, which are carried out on systems much larger than those studied before, indicate that pure $\delta$-function disorder in the absence of any Landau level coupling gives rise to non-universal localization properties with the critical exponents in the lowest two Landau levels being substantially different. Inclusion of a finite potential range and/or Landau level mixing may be essential in producing universality in the localization.Comment: 28 pages, Latex, 17 figures (available upon request), #phd0

Scaling Behavior of the Activated Conductivity in a Quantum Hall Liquid

We propose a scaling model for the universal longitudinal conductivity near the mobility edge for the integer quantum Hall liquid. We fit our model with available experimental data on exponentially activated conductance near the Landau level tails in the integer quantum Hall regime. We obtain quantitative agreement between our scaling model and the experimental data over a wide temperature and magnetic field range.Comment: 9 pages, Latex, 2 figures (available upon request), #phd0

Universal flow diagram for the magnetoconductance in disordered GaAs layers

The temperature driven flow lines of the diagonal and Hall magnetoconductance data (G_{xx},G_{xy}) are studied in heavily Si-doped, disordered GaAs layers with different thicknesses. The flow lines are quantitatively well described by a recent universal scaling theory developed for the case of duality symmetry. The separatrix G_{xy}=1 (in units e^2/h) separates an insulating state from a spin-degenerate quantum Hall effect (QHE) state. The merging into the insulator or the QHE state at low temperatures happens along a semicircle separatrix G_{xx}^2+(G_{xy}-1)^2=1 which is divided by an unstable fixed point at (G_{xx},G_{xy})=(1,1).Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. Let

A Unified Model for Two Localisation Problems: Electron States in Spin-Degenerate Landau Levels, and in a Random Magnetic Field

A single model is presented which represents both of the two apparently unrelated localisation problems of the title. The phase diagram of this model is examined using scaling ideas and numerical simulations. It is argued that the localisation length in a spin-degenerate Landau level diverges at two distinct energies, with the same critical behaviour as in a spin-split Landau level, and that all states of a charged particle moving in two dimensions, in a random magnetic field with zero average, are localised.Comment: 7 pages (RevTeX 3.0) plus 4 postscript figure

Rigidity of minimal submanifolds in hyperbolic space

We prove that if an $n$-dimensional complete minimal submanifold $M$ in hyperbolic space has sufficiently small total scalar curvature then $M$ has only one end. We also prove that for such $M$ there exist no nontrivial $L^2$ harmonic 1-forms on $M$

A Farewell to Liouvillians

We examine the Liouvillian approach to the quantum Hall plateau transition, as introduced recently by Sinova, Meden, and Girvin [Phys. Rev. B {\bf 62}, 2008 (2000)] and developed by Moore, Sinova and Zee [Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 87}, 046801 (2001)]. We show that, despite appearances to the contrary, the Liouvillian approach is not specific to the quantum mechanics of particles moving in a single Landau level: we formulate it for a general disordered single-particle Hamiltonian. We next examine the relationship between Liouvillian perturbation theory and conventional calculations of disorder-averaged products of Green functions and show that each term in Liouvillian perturbation theory corresponds to a specific contribution to the two-particle Green function. As a consequence, any Liouvillian approximation scheme may be re-expressed in the language of Green functions. We illustrate these ideas by applying Liouvillian methods, including their extension to $N_L > 1$ Liouvillian flavors, to random matrix ensembles, using numerical calculations for small integer $N_L$ and an analytic analysis for large $N_L$. We find that behavior at $N_L > 1$ is different in qualitative ways from that at $N_L=1$. In particular, the $N_L = \infty$ limit expressed using Green functions generates a pathological approximation, in which two-particle correlation functions fail to factorize correctly at large separations of their energy, and exhibit spurious singularities inside the band of random matrix energy levels. We also consider the large $N_L$ treatment of the quantum Hall plateau transition, showing that the same undesirable features are present there, too

Liouvillian Approach to the Integer Quantum Hall Effect Transition

We present a novel approach to the localization-delocalization transition in the integer quantum Hall effect. The Hamiltonian projected onto the lowest Landau level can be written in terms of the projected density operators alone. This and the closed set of commutation relations between the projected densities leads to simple equations for the time evolution of the density operators. These equations can be used to map the problem of calculating the disorder averaged and energetically unconstrained density-density correlation function to the problem of calculating the one-particle density of states of a dynamical system with a novel action. At the self-consistent mean-field level, this approach yields normal diffusion and a finite longitudinal conductivity. While we have not been able to go beyond the saddle point approximation analytically, we show numerically that the critical localization exponent can be extracted from the energetically integrated correlation function yielding $\nu=2.33 \pm 0.05$ in excellent agreement with previous finite-size scaling studies.Comment: 9 pages, submitted to PR

Non-Markovian entanglement dynamics in coupled superconducting qubit systems

We theoretically analyze the entanglement generation and dynamics by coupled Josephson junction qubits. Considering a current-biased Josephson junction (CBJJ), we generate maximally entangled states. In particular, the entanglement dynamics is considered as a function of the decoherence parameters, such as the temperature, the ratio $r\equiv\omega_c/\omega_0$ between the reservoir cutoff frequency $\omega_c$ and the system oscillator frequency $\omega_0$, % between $\omega_0$ the characteristic frequency of the %quantum system of interest, and $\omega_c$ the cut-off frequency of %Ohmic reservoir and the energy levels split of the superconducting circuits in the non-Markovian master equation. We analyzed the entanglement sudden death (ESD) and entanglement sudden birth (ESB) by the non-Markovian master equation. Furthermore, we find that the larger the ratio $r$ and the thermal energy $k_BT$, the shorter the decoherence. In this superconducting qubit system we find that the entanglement can be controlled and the ESD time can be prolonged by adjusting the temperature and the superconducting phases $\Phi_k$ which split the energy levels.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figure

Electron Localization in a 2D System with Random Magnetic Flux

Using a finite-size scaling method, we calculate the localization properties of a disordered two-dimensional electron system in the presence of a random magnetic field. Below a critical energy $E_c$ all states are localized and the localization length $\xi$ diverges when the Fermi energy approaches the critical energy, {\it i.e.} $\xi(E)\propto |E-E_c|^{-\nu}$. We find that $E_c$ shifts with the strength of the disorder and the amplitude of the random magnetic field while the critical exponent ($\nu\approx 4.8$) remains unchanged indicating universality in this system. Implications on the experiment in half-filling fractional quantum Hall system are also discussed.Comment: 4 pages, RevTex 3.0, 5 figures(PS files available upon request), #phd1

Duality and Non-linear Response for Quantum Hall Systems

We derive the implications of particle-vortex duality for the electromagnetic response of Quantum Hall systems beyond the linear-response regime. This provides a first theoretical explanation of the remarkable duality which has been observed in the nonlinear regime for the electromagnetic response of Quantum Hall systems.Comment: 7 pages, 1 figure, typeset in LaTe