Distribution function of persistent current

TL;DR

This paper develops a new theoretical approach to compute the distribution of persistent currents in diffusive systems, revealing Gaussian behavior generally and non-Gaussian tails at large deviations.

Contribution

It introduces a novel replica trick within the nonlinear sigma model to calculate the full distribution function of persistent currents, including effects of local interactions.

Findings

Gaussian distribution of persistent current in diffusive regime

Non-Gaussian tails predicted for large deviations

Method applicable with local interactions

Abstract

We introduce a variant of the replica trick within the nonlinear sigma model that allows calculating the distribution function of the persistent current. In the diffusive regime, a Gaussian distribution is derived. This result holds in the presence of local interactions as well. Breakdown of the Gaussian statistics is predicted for the tails of the distribution function at large deviations.