arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Martin R. Zirnbauer.
The classification of universality classes of random-matrix theory has recently been extended beyond the Wigner-Dyson ensembles. Several of the novel ensembles can be discussed naturally in the context of superconducting-normal hybrid systems. In this paper, we give a semiclassical interpretation of their spectral form factors for both quantum graphs and Andreev billiards.
Normal-conducting mesoscopic systems in contact with a superconductor are classified by the symmetry operations of time reversal and rotation of the electron's spin. Four symmetry classes are identified, which correspond to Cartan's symmetric spaces of type C, CI, D, and DIII. A detailed study is made of the systems where the phase shift due to Andreev reflection averages to zero along a typical semiclassical single-electron trajectory. Such systems are particularly interesting because they do not have a genuine excitation gap but support quasiparticle states close to the chemical potential. Disorder or dynamically generated chaos mixes the states and produces novel forms of universal level statistics. For two of the four universality classes, the n-level correlation functions are calculated by the mapping on a free 1D Fermi gas with a boundary. The remaining two classes are related to the Laguerre orthogonal and symplectic random-matrix ensembles. For a quantum dot with an NS-geometry, the weak localization correction to the conductance is calculated as a function of sticking probability and two perturbations breaking time-reversal symmetry and spin-rotation invariance. The universal conductance fluctuations are computed from a maximum-entropy S-matrix ensemble. They are larger by a factor of two than what is naively expected from the analogy with normal-conducting systems. This enhancement is explained by the doubling of the number of slow modes: owing to the coupling of particles and holes by the proximity to the superconductor, every cooperon and diffuson mode in the advanced-retarded channel entails a corresponding mode in the advanced-advanced (or retarded-retarded) channel.
We formulate and prove an exact relation which expresses the moments of the two-point conductance for an open disordered electron system in terms of certain density correlators of the corresponding closed system. As an application of the relation, we demonstrate that the typical two-point conductance for the Chalker-Coddington model at criticality transforms like a two-point function in conformal field theory.
On the basis of the Chalker-Coddington network model, a numerical and analytical study is made of the statistics of point-contact conductances for systems in the integer quantum Hall regime. In the Hall plateau region the point-contact conductances reflect strong localization of the electrons, while near the plateau transition they exhibit strong mesoscopic fluctuations. By mapping the network model on a supersymmetric vertex model with GL(2|2) symmetry, and postulating a two-point correlator in keeping with the rules of conformal field theory, we derive an explicit expression for the distribution of conductances at criticality. There is only one free parameter, the power law exponent of the typical conductance. Its value is computed numerically to be X_t = 0.640 +/- 0.009. The predicted conductance distribution agrees well with the numerical data. For large distances between the two contacts, the distribution can be described by a multifractal spectrum solely determined by X_t. Our results demonstrate that multifractality can show up in appropriate transport experiments.
A solution to the long-standing problem of identifying the conformal field theory governing the transition between quantized Hall plateaus of a disordered noninteracting 2d electron gas, is proposed. The theory is a nonlinear sigma model with a Wess-Zumino-Novikov-Witten term, and fields taking values in a Riemannian symmetric superspace based on H^3 x S^3. Essentially the same conformal field theory appeared in very recent work on string propagation in AdS_3 backgrounds. We explain how the proposed theory manages to obey a number of tight constraints, two of which are constancy of the partition function and noncriticality of the local density of states. An unexpected feature is the existence of a truly marginal deformation, restricting the extent to which universality can hold in critical quantum Hall systems. The marginal coupling is fixed by matching the short-distance singularity of the conductance between two interior contacts to the classical conductivity sigma_xx = 1/2 of the Chalker-Coddington network model. For this value, perturbation theory predicts a critical exponent 2/pi for the typical point-contact conductance, in agreement with numerical simulations. The irrational exponent is tolerated by the fact that the symmetry algebra of the field theory is Virasoro but not affine Lie algebraic.
Kamenev and Mezard, and Yurkevich and Lerner, have recently shown how to reproduce the large-frequency asymptotics of the energy level correlations for disordered electron systems, by doing perturbation theory around the saddles of the compact nonlinear sigma model derived from fermionic replicas. We present a critical review of their procedure and argue that its validity is limited to the perturbative regime of large frequency. The miraculous exactness of the saddle-point answer for beta = 2 (unitary symmetry) in the universal limit, is shown to be a special feature due to the Duistermaat-Heckman theorem.
A conjecture due to Bohigas, Giannoni and Schmit (BGS), stating that the energy level correlations of quantum chaotic systems generically obey the laws of random matrix theory, is given a precise formulation for quantized symplectic maps. No statement is made about any individual quantum map. Rather, a few-parameter ensemble of maps is considered, such that the deterministic map is composed with a diffusion operator on average. The ensemble is a ``quantum'' one, which is to say that the diffusion operator contracts to the identity in the classical limit. It is argued that the BGS conjecture is true on average over such an ensemble, provided that the classical map is mixing. The method used is closely related to the supersymmetric formalism of Andreev et al for chaotic Hamiltonian systems.
The color-flavor transformation is a mathematical result that has applications to problems as diverse as lattice gauge theory, random network models, and dynamical systems. Several variants are described, and an outline of the proof is given. It is then shown how to use the transformation to set up a field theoretic formalism for quantum chaotic maps.
Gaussian random matrix ensembles defined over the tangent spaces of the large families of Cartan's symmetric spaces are considered. Such ensembles play a central role in mesoscopic physics since they describe the universal ergodic limit of disordered and chaotic single particle systems. The generating function for the spectral correlations of each ensemble is reduced to an integral over a Riemannian symmetric superspace in the limit of large matrix dimension. Such a space is defined as a pair (G/H,M_r) where G/H is a complex-analytic graded manifold homogeneous with respect to the action of a complex Lie supergroup G, and M_r is a maximal Riemannian submanifold of the support of G/H.
An N-channel generalization of the network model of Chalker and Coddington is considered. The model for N = 1 is known to describe the critical behavior at the plateau transition in systems exhibiting the integer quantum Hall effect. Using a recently discovered equality of integrals, the network model is transformed into a lattice field theory defined over Efetov's sigma model space with unitary symmetry. The transformation is exact for all N, no saddle-point approximation is made, and no massive modes have to be eliminated. The naive continuum limit of the lattice theory is shown to be a supersymmetric version of Pruisken's nonlinear sigma model with couplings sigma_xx = sigma_xy = N/2 at the symmetric point. It follows that the model for N = 2, which describes a spin degenerate Landau level and the random flux problem, is noncritical. On the basis of symmetry considerations and inspection of the Hamiltonian limit, a modified network model is formulated, which still lies in the quantum Hall universality class. The prospects for deformation to a Yang-Baxter integrable vertex model are briefly discussed.
In a recent comment [cond-mat/9703106] Casati, Izrailev and Sokolov claim that our analysis of the quantum kicked rotor [Phys. Rev. Lett. 77, 4536 (1996), chao-dyn/9609014] seems to miss an important aspect, viz. the difference in behavior between rational and irrational values of the parameter T = tau/4pi (tau being the time between kicks). The fact of the matter is that our approach does depend very sensitively on the number theoretical properties of T. In our reply we show how the 'degree of rationality' is related to the topological aspects of our theory and point out the phenomenological consequences of this connection.
The quantum kicked rotor is investigated by field theoretical methods. It is shown that the effective theory describing the long wave length physics of the system is precisely the supersymmetric nonlinear sigma-model for quasi one-dimensional metallic wires. This proves that the analogy between chaotic systems with dynamical localization and disordered metals can indeed be exact. The role of symmetries is discussed.
The electrons on the surface of a disordered multi-layer integer quantum Hall system constitute an unusual chiral metal with ballistic motion transverse to the field, and diffusive motion parallel to it. We present a non-perturbative analytic treatment of an appropriate model, consisting of disordered chiral Fermions in two dimensions. A supersymmetric generating functional is set up for the correlation functions of this system. The strong disorder limit is mapped into a supersymmetric spin chain, with ferromagnetic exchange coupling, reflecting the electron's chiral motion. The ferromagnetic ground state and the spin wave excitations, corresponding to the diffusion modes of the chiral metal, are found exactly. The parametric density of states correlator in the ergodic limit is computed from a Boltzmann-weighted sum over low energy spin states. The result is of a universal form and coincides with that for a Hermitian random matrix.
A generalized Hubbard-Stratonovitch transformation relating an integral over random unitary N times N matrices to an integral over Efetov's unitary sigma model manifold, is introduced. This transformation adapts the supersymmetry method to disordered and chaotic systems that are modeled not by a Hamiltonian but by their scattering matrix or time-evolution operator. In contrast to the standard method, no saddle-point approximation is made, and no massive modes have to be eliminated. This first paper on the subject applies the generalized Hubbard-Stratonovitch transformation to Dyson's Circular Unitary Ensemble. It is shown how to use a supersymmetric variant of the Harish-Chandra-Itzykson-Zuber formula to compute, in the large-N limit, the n-level correlation function for any n. Nontrivial applications to random network models, quantum chaotic maps, and lattice gauge theory, are expected.
A new universality class distinct from the standard Wigner-Dyson ones is identified. This class is realized by putting a metallic quantum dot in contact with a superconductor, while applying a magnetic field so as to make the pairing field effectively vanish on average. A random-matrix description of the spectral and transport properties of such a quantum dot is proposed. The weak-localization correction to the tunnel conductance is nonzero and results from the depletion of the density of states due to the coupling with the superconductor. Semiclassically, the depletion is caused by a a mode of phase-coherent long-range propagation of electrons and holes.
The conductance coefficients of disordered mesoscopic devices with $n$ probes are investigated within the noninteracting electron approximation at zero temperature. The probes are eliminated from the theoretical description at the expense of introducing nonlocal boundary conditions at the position of the contacts. Conductors with a large number of weak contacts are analyzed in detail. The ensemble-averaged conductance coefficients are in this case given by the so-called Hauser-Feshbach formula $g_{ab} \sim p_a p_b$ where $p_a$ is the probability for emission of an electron into lead $a$. The conductance energy autocorrelation function is shown to deviate significantly from the conventional Lorentzian form and to have a negative tail.