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A. D. Mirlin

Publications and source records attributed to A. D. Mirlin.

At least 127 records · Page 7Linked to original sources

Dephasing and weak localization in disordered Luttinger liquid

We study the transport properties of interacting electrons in a disordered quantum wire within the framework of the Luttinger liquid model. The conductivity at finite temperature is nonzero only because of inelastic electron-electron scattering. We demonstrate that the notion of weak localization is applicable to the strongly correlated one-dimensional electron system. We calculate the relevant dephasing rate, which for spinless electrons is governed by the interplay of electron-electron interaction and disorder, thus vanishing in the clean limit.

cond-mat.dis-nn↗

Griffiths phase in the thermal quantum Hall effect

Two dimensional disordered superconductors with broken spin-rotation and time-reversal invariance, e.g. with p_x+ip_y pairing, can exhibit plateaus in the thermal Hall coefficient (the thermal quantum Hall effect). Our numerical simulations show that the Hall insulating regions of the phase diagram can support a sub-phase where the quasiparticle density of states is divergent at zero energy, ρ(E)\sim |E|^{1/z-1}, with a non-universal exponent $z>1$, due to the effects of rare configurations of disorder (``Griffiths phase'').

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

Theory of microwave-induced oscillations in the magnetoconductivity of a 2D electron gas

We develop a theory of magnetooscillations in the photoconductivity of a two-dimensional electron gas observed in recent experiments. The effect is governed by a change of the electron distribution function induced by the microwave radiation. We analyze a nonlinearity with respect to both the dc field and the microwave power, as well as the temperature dependence determined by the inelastic relaxation rate.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

Nonequilibrium mesoscopic conductance fluctuations

We investigate the amplitude of mesoscopic fluctuations of the differential conductance of a metallic wire at arbitrary bias voltage V. For non-interacting electrons, the variance increases with V. The asymptotic large-V behavior is \sim V/V_c (where eV_c=D/L^2 is the Thouless energy), in agreement with the earlier prediction by Larkin and Khmelnitskii. We find, however, that this asymptotics has a very small numerical prefactor and sets in at very large V/V_c only, which strongly complicates its experimental observation. This high-voltage behavior is preceded by a crossover regime, V/V_c \lesssim 30, where the conductance variance increases by a factor \sim 3 as compared to its value in the regime of universal conductance fluctuations (i.e., at V->0). We further analyze the effect of dephasing due to the electron-electron scattering on at high voltages. With the Coulomb interaction taken into account, the amplitude of conductance fluctuations becomes a non-monotonic function of V. Specifically, drops as 1/V for voltages V >> gV_c, where g is the dimensionless conductance. In this regime, the conductance fluctuations are dominated by quantum-coherent regions of the wire adjacent to the reservoirs.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

Oscillatory ac- and photoconductivity of a 2D electron gas: Quasiclassical transport beyond the Boltzmann equation

We have analyzed the quasiclassical mechanism of magnetooscillations in the ac- and photoconductivity, related to non-Markovian dynamics of disorder-induced electron scattering. While the magnetooscillations in the photoconductivity are found to be weak, the effect manifests itself much more strongly in the ac conductivity, where it may easily dominate over the oscillations due to the Landau quantization. We argue that the damping of the oscillatory photoconductivity provides a reliable method of measuring the homogeneous broadening of Landau levels (single-particle scattering rate) in high-mobility structures.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

Compressibility of a 2D electron gas under microwave radiation

Microwave irradiation of a two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) produces a non-equilibrium distribution of electrons, and leads to oscillations in the dissipative part of the conductivity. We show that the same non-equilibrium electron distribution induces strong oscillations in the 2DEG compressibility measured by local probes. Local measurements of the compressibility are expected to provide information about the domain structure of the zero resistance state of a 2DEG under microwave radiation.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

Kinetic theory of fluctuations in conducting systems

We propose an effective field theory describing the time dependent fluctuations of electrons in conducting systems, generalizing the well known kinetic theory of fluctuations. On several examples, we show its equivalence, (when quantum corrections are neglected) to a microscopic quantum mechanical non-linear $σ$-model theory. We apply then the theory to analyze the effects of strong electron-electron and electron-phonon scattering on the statistics of current fluctuations. We find that if the electron-electron scattering length is much shorter than the transport mean free path the higher cumulants of current are parametrically enhanced.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

Coulomb drag in high Landau levels

Recent experiments on Coulomb drag in the quantum Hall regime have yielded a number of surprises. The most striking observations are that the Coulomb drag can become negative in high Landau levels and that its temperature dependence is non-monotonous. We develop a systematic diagrammatic theory of Coulomb drag in strong magnetic fields explaining these puzzling experiments. The theory is applicable both in the diffusive and the ballistic regimes; we focus on the experimentally relevant ballistic regime (interlayer distance $a$ smaller than the cyclotron radius $R_c$). It is shown that the drag at strong magnetic fields is an interplay of two contributions arising from different sources of particle-hole asymmetry, namely the curvature of the zero-field electron dispersion and the particle-hole asymmetry associated with Landau quantization. The former contribution is positive and governs the high-temperature increase in the drag resistivity. On the other hand, the latter one, which is dominant at low $T$, has an oscillatory sign (depending on the difference in filling factors of the two layers) and gives rise to a sharp peak in the temperature dependence at $T$ of the order of the Landau level width.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

Interaction-induced dephasing of Aharonov-Bohm oscillations

We study the effect of the electron-electron interaction on the amplitude of mesoscopic Aharonov-Bohm oscillations in quasi-one-dimensional (Q1D) diffusive rings. We show that the dephasing length L_phi^AB governing the damping factor exp(-2piR / L_phi^AB) of the oscillations is parametrically different from the common dephasing length for the Q1D geometry. This is due to the fact that the dephasing is governed by energy transfers determined by the ring circumference 2piR, making L_phi^AB R-dependent.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

Mesoscopic Aharonov-Bohm oscillations in metallic rings

We study the amplitude of mesoscopic Aharonov-Bohm oscillations in quasi-one-dimensional (Q1D) diffusive rings. We consider first the low-temperature limit of a fully coherent sample. The variance of oscillation harmonics is calculated as a function of the length of the leads attaching the ring to reservoirs. We further analyze the regime of relatively high temperatures, when the dephasing due to electron-electron interaction suppresses substantially the oscillations. We show that the dephasing length L_phi^AB governing the damping factor exp(-2pi R /L_phi^AB) of the oscillations is parametrically different from the common dephasing length for the Q1D geometry. This is due to the fact that the dephasing is governed by energy transfers determined by the ring circumference 2pi R, making L_phi^AB R-dependent.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

Theory of the oscillatory photoconductivity of a 2D electron gas

We develop a theory of magnetooscillations in the photoconductivity of a two-dimensional electron gas observed in recent experiments. The effect is governed by a change of the electron distribution function induced by the microwave radiation. We analyze a nonlinearity with respect to both the dc field and the microwave power, as well as the temperature dependence determined by the inelastic relaxation rate.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

Cyclotron resonance harmonics in the ac response of a 2D electron gas with smooth disorder

The frequency-dependent conductivity $σ_{xx}(ω)$ of 2D electrons subjected to a transverse magnetic field and smooth disorder is calculated. The interplay of Landau quantization and disorder scattering gives rise to an oscillatory structure that survives in the high-temperature limit. The relation to recent experiments on photoconductivity by Zudov {\it et al.} and Mani {\it et al.} is discussed.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

Interaction-induced magnetoresistance in a two-dimensional electron gas

We study the interaction-induced quantum correction δσ_{αβ} to the conductivity tensor of electrons in two dimensions for arbitrary Tτ(where T is the temperature and τthe transport scattering time), magnetic field, and type of disorder. A general theory is developed, allowing us to express δσ_{αβ} in terms of classical propagators (``ballistic diffusons''). The formalism is used to calculate the interaction contribution to the longitudinal and the Hall resistivities in a transverse magnetic field in the whole range of temperature from the diffusive (Tτ<< 1) to the ballistic (Tτ> 1) regime, both in smooth disorder and in the presence of short-range scatterers. Further, we apply the formalism to anisotropic systems and demonstrate that the interaction induces novel quantum oscillations in the resistivity of lateral superlattices.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

Interaction-induced magnetoresistance: From the diffusive to the ballistic regime

We study interaction-induced quantum correction to the conductivity tensor of electrons in two dimensions for arbitrary T tau, where T is the temperature and tau the transport mean free time. A general formula is derived, expressing the correction in terms of classical propagators ("ballistic diffusons"). The formalism is used to calculate the interaction contribution to the magnetoresistance in a classically strong transverse field and smooth disorder in the whole range of temperatures from the diffusive (T tau<<1) to the ballistic (T tau>1) regime.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

Loschmidt Echo and Lyapunov Exponent in a Quantum Disordered System

We investigate the sensitivity of a disordered system with diffractive scatterers to a weak external perturbation. Specifically, we calculate the fidelity M(t) (also called the Loschmidt echo) characterizing a return probability after a propagation for a time $t$ followed by a backward propagation governed by a slightly perturbed Hamiltonian. For short-range scatterers we perform a diagrammatic calculation showing that the fidelity decays first exponentially according to the golden rule, and then follows a power law governed by the diffusive dynamics. For long-range disorder (when the diffractive scattering is of small-angle character) an intermediate regime emerges where the diagrammatics is not applicable. Using the path integral technique, we derive a kinetic equation and show that M(t) decays exponentially with a rate governed by the classical Lyapunov exponent.

cond-mat.dis-nn↗

High cumulants of current fluctuations out of equilibrium

We consider high order current cumulants in disordered systems out of equilibrium. They are interesting and reveal information which is not easily exposed by the traditional shot noise. Despite the fact that the dynamics of the electrons is classical, the standard kinetic theory of fluctuations needs to be modified to account for those cumulants. We perform a quantum-mechanical calculation using the Keldysh technique and analyze its relation to the quasi classical Boltzmann-Langevin scheme. We also consider the effect of inelastic scattering. Strong electron-phonon scattering renders the current fluctuations Gaussian, completely suppressing the $n>2$ cumulants. Under strong electron-electron scattering the current fluctuations remain non-Gaussian.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

Wave function statistics and multifractality at the spin quantum Hall transition

The statistical properties of wave functions at the critical point of the spin quantum Hall transition are studied. The main emphasis is put onto determination of the spectrum of multifractal exponents $Δ_q$ governing the scaling of moments $<|ψ|^{2q}>\sim L^{-qd-Δ_q}$ with the system size $L$ and the spatial decay of wave function correlations. Two- and three-point correlation functions are calculated analytically by means of mapping onto the classical percolation, yielding the values $Δ_2=-1/4$ and $Δ_3=-3/4$. The multifractality spectrum obtained from numerical simulations is given with a good accuracy by the parabolic approximation $Δ_q\simeq q(1-q)/8$ but shows detectable deviations. We also study statistics of the two-point conductance $g$, in particular, the spectrum of exponents $X_q$ characterizing the scaling of the moments $ $. Relations between the spectra of critical exponents of wave functions ($Δ_q$), conductances ($X_q$), and Green functions at the localization transition with a critical density of states are discussed.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

Quantum Hall ferromagnets, cooperative transport anisotropy, and the random field Ising model

We discuss the behaviour of a quantum Hall system when two Landau levels with opposite spin and combined filling factor near unity are brought into energetic coincidence using an in-plane component of magnetic field. We focus on the interpretation of recent experiments under these conditions [Zeitler et al, Phys. Rev. Lett. 86, 866 (2001); Pan et al, Phys. Rev. B 64, 121305 (2001)], in which a large resistance anisotropy develops at low temperatures. Modelling the systems involved as Ising quantum Hall ferromagnets, we suggest that this transport anisotropy reflects domain formation induced by a random field arising from isotropic sample surface roughness.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗