Resonances in a single-lead reflection from a disordered medium: $\sigma$-model approach

TL;DR

This paper develops a non-perturbative supersymmetric sigma-model approach to analyze the universal distribution of resonance widths in disordered media, revealing distinct asymptotic behaviors linked to localization and diffusion.

Contribution

It introduces a novel sigma-model framework for non-perturbative analysis of resonance width distributions in disordered systems with broken time-reversal symmetry.

Findings

Derived explicit formulas for resonance width distributions in various geometries.

Identified power-law tails in the distribution corresponding to localized and extended states.

Revealed intermediate asymptotics for multimode quasi-1D systems reflecting diffusive decay.

Abstract

Using the framework of supersymmetric non-linear $\sigma$-model we develop a general non-perturbative characterisation of universal features of the density $\rho(\Gamma)$ of the imaginary parts (``width'') for $S$-matrix poles (``resonances'') describing waves incident and reflected from a disordered medium via $M$-channel waveguide/lead. Explicit expressions for $\rho(\Gamma)$ are derived for several instances of systems with broken time-reversal invariance, in particular for quasi-1D and 3D media. In the case of perfectly coupled lead with a few channels ($M\sim 1$) the most salient features are tails $\rho(\Gamma)\sim \Gamma^{-1}$ for narrow resonances reflecting exponential localization and $\rho(\Gamma)\sim \Gamma^{-2}$ for broad resonances reflecting states located in the vicinity of the attached wire. For multimode quasi 1D wires with $M\gg 1$, an intermediate asymptotics $\rho(\Gamma)\sim \Gamma^{-3/2}$ is shown to emerge reflecting diffusive nature of decay into wide enough contacts.