Statistics and Scaling in Disordered Mesoscopic Electron Systems

TL;DR

This review discusses the statistical behavior and scaling phenomena in disordered mesoscopic electron systems at very low temperatures, emphasizing the role of conductance and local density of states in localization transitions.

Contribution

It provides a unified, pedagogical overview of the distribution functions and scaling flow in disordered electron systems, clarifying the role of order parameters and multifractal behavior.

Findings

One-parameter scaling theory effectively describes typical conductance and local density of states.

Multifractal distribution of local quantities occurs below a critical length scale.

Universal multifractal behavior emerges near the localization-delocalization transition.

Abstract

This review is intended to give a pedagogical and unified view on the subject of the statistics and scaling of physical quantities in disordered electron systems at very low temperatures. Quantum coherence at low temperatures and randomness of microscopic details can cause large fluctuations of physical quantities. In such mesoscopic systems a localization-delocalization transition can occur which forms a critical phenomenon. Accordingly, a one-parameter scaling theory was formulated stressing the role of conductance as the (one-parameter) scaling variable. However, the notion of an order parameter was not fully clarified in this theory. Based on presently available analytical and numerical results we focus here on the description of the total distribution functions and their flow with increasing system size. Still, one-parameter scaling theory does work in terms of typical values of the local density of states and of the conductance which serve as order parameter and scaling variable of the localization-delocalization transition, respectively. Below a certain length scale, $\xi_c$, related to the value of the typical conductance, local quantities are multifractally distributed. This multifractal behavior becomes universal on approaching the localization-delocalization transition with $\xi_c$ playing the role of a correlation length.