Adiabaticity Crossover: From Anderson Localization to Planckian Diffusion

TL;DR

This paper explores the transition from Anderson localization to Planckian diffusion in one-dimensional electron transport, introducing an adiabatic criterion and linking dephasing to temperature-dependent resistivity in strange metals.

Contribution

It presents a new adiabaticity criterion based on acceleration, connecting localization, dephasing, and diffusion regimes in quantum acoustics.

Findings

Identification of a Planckian domain with diffusivity of order unity.

Dephasing-driven crossover from localization to diffusion.

Linear temperature dependence of transport scattering rate.

Abstract

We investigate electron transport in one dimension from the quantum-acoustic perspective, where the coherent-state representation of lattice vibrations results in a time-dependent deformation potential whose rate is set by the sound speed, fluctuation spectrum is set by the temperature, and overall amplitude is set by the electron-lattice coupling strength. We introduce an acceleration-based adiabatic criterion, consistent with the adiabatic theorem and Landau-Zener theory, that separates adiabatic and diabatic dynamics across the $(T,v)$ plane. The discrete classification agrees with a continuous mean-squared acceleration scale and correlates with a coherence measure given by the ratio of coherence length to the initial packet width $L_\phi(t)/\sigma_0$. We identify a broad Planckian domain in which the dimensionless diffusivity $\alpha\!=\!Dm/\hbar$ is of order unity and only weakly depends on the parameters. This domain is more prevalent in diabatic regions and in areas of reduced phase coherence, indicating a dephasing driven crossover from Anderson localization to Planckian diffusion. Using the Einstein relation together with nearly constant $\alpha$, we directly obtain a low temperature tendency $1/\tau_{\rm tr}\propto T$, offering a insight to $T$-linear resistivity in strange metals. These results provide a unified picture that links adiabaticity, dephasing, and Planckian diffusion in dynamically disordered quantum-acoustics.