Particle-hole symmetric localization in two dimensions

Abstract

We revisit two-dimensional particle-hole symmetric sublattice localization problem, focusing on the origin of the observed singularities in the density of states $ρ(E)$ at the band center E=0. The most general such system [R. Gade, Nucl. Phys. B {\bf 398}, 499 (1993)] exhibits critical behavior and has $ρ(E)$ that diverges stronger than any integrable power-law, while the special {\it random vector potential model} of Ludwiget al [Phys. Rev. B {\bf 50}, 7526 (1994)] has instead a power-law density of states with a continuously varying dynamical exponent. We show that the latter model undergoes a dynamical transition with increasing disorder--this transition is a counterpart of the static transition known to occur in this system; in the strong-disorder regime, we identify the low-energy states of this model with the local extrema of the defining two-dimensional Gaussian random surface. Furthermore, combining this ``surface fluctuation'' mechanism with a renormalization group treatment of a related vortex glass problem leads us to argue that the asymptotic low $E$ behavior of the density of states in the {\it general} case is $ρ(E) \sim E^{-1} e^{-|\ln E|^{2/3}}$, different from earlier prediction of Gade. We also study the localized phases of such particle-hole symmetric systems and identify a Griffiths ``string'' mechanism that generates singular power-law contributions to the low-energy density of states in this case.