Correlated mesoscopic fluctuations in integer quantum Hall transitions

Chenggang Zhou and Mona Berciu
Phys. Rev. B 72, 085306 – Published 1 August 2005

Abstract

We investigate the origin of the resistance fluctuations of mesoscopic samples, near transitions between quantum Hall plateaus. These fluctuations have been recently observed experimentally by E. Peled et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 90, 246802 (2003); 90, 236802 (2003); Phys. Rev. B 69, 241305(R) (2004)]. We perform realistic first-principles simulations using a six-terminal geometry and sample sizes similar to those of real devices, to model the actual experiment. We present the theory and implementation of these simulations, which are based on the linear response theory for noninteracting electrons. The Hall and longitudinal resistances extracted from the Landauer formula exhibit all the observed experimental features. We give a unified explanation for the three regimes with distinct types of fluctuations observed experimentally, based on a simple generalization of the Landauer-Büttiker model. The transport is shown to be determined by the interplay between tunneling and chiral currents. We identify the central part of the transition, at intermediate filling factors, as the critical region where the localization length is larger than the sample size.

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  • Received 15 March 2005

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.72.085306

©2005 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

Chenggang Zhou1,* and Mona Berciu2

  • 1Department of Electrical Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, USA
  • 2Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V6T 1Z1

  • *Present address: Computer Science and Mathematics Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, P. O. Box 2008, MS 6164, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, USA; Center for Simulational Physics, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602, USA.

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Vol. 72, Iss. 8 — 15 August 2005

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