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arXiv · 1107.4738

Skipping and snake orbits of electrons: singularities and catastrophes

Nathan Davies·Aavishkar A. Patel·Alberto Cortijo·Vadim Cheianov·Francisco Guinea·Vladimir I. Fal'ko
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Abstract

Near the sample edge, or a sharp magnetic field step the drift of two-dimensional electrons in a magnetic field has the form of skipping/snake orbits. We show that families of skipping/snake orbits of electrons injected at one point inside a 2D metal generically exhibit caustics folds, cusps and cusp triplets, and, in one extreme case, a section of the batterfly bifurcation. Periodic appearance of singularities along the $\pm B$-interface leads to the magneto-oscillations of nonlocal conductance in multi-terminal electronic devices.

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Nathan Davies, Aavishkar A. Patel, Alberto Cortijo, Vadim Cheianov, Francisco Guinea, Vladimir I. Fal'ko. 2011-07-24. Skipping and snake orbits of electrons: singularities and catastrophes. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevb.85.155433

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