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arXiv:cond-mat/9705192 · Physical Review Letters

Near Critical States of Random Dirac Fermions

Yoshifumi Morita, Yasuhiro Hatsugai

Published Nov 10, 1997• 49 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Two-dimensional random Dirac fermions are studied numerically. They are realized on a square lattice by the $\ensuremath{\pi}$-flux model with random hopping. It preserves a symmetry denoted by ${H,\ensuremath{\gamma}}\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}=\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}0$ in an effective field theory. Although it belongs to the orthogonal ensemble, the zero-energy states do not localize but become critical. The density of states vanishes as $\ensuremath{\sim}{E}^{\ensuremath{\alpha}}$ and the exponent $\ensuremath{\alpha}$ changes with strength of the randomness (the critical line). Rapid enhancement of the Thouless number is observed near the zero energy. The level-spacing distribution is also investigated, which is consistent with the existence of the critical states at $E\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}=\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}0$.

DOI
10.1103/physrevlett.79.3728

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Two-dimensional random Dirac fermions are studied numerically. They are realized on a square lattice by the \ensuremathπ\ensuremath{\pi}\ensuremathπ-flux model with random hopping. It preserves a symmetry denoted by H,\ensuremathγ=0{H,\ensuremath{\gamma}}\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}=\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}0H,\ensuremathγ=0 in an effective field theory. Although it belongs to the orthogonal ensemble, the zero-energy states do not localize but become critical. The density of states vanishes as \ensuremath∼E\ensuremathα\ensuremath{\sim}{E}^{\ensuremath{\alpha}}\ensuremath∼E\ensuremathα and the exponent \ensuremathα\ensuremath{\alpha}\ensuremathα changes with strength of the randomness (the critical line). Rapid enhancement of the Thouless number is observed near the zero energy. The level-spacing distribution is also investigated, which is consistent with the existence of the critical states at E=0E\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}=\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}0E=0.
Random-bond Hamiltonians of the $\ensuremath{\pi}$ flux state on the square lattice are investigated. It has a special symmetry and all states are paired except the ones with zero energy. Because of this, there are always zero modes. The states near E=0E=0E=0 are described by massless Dirac fermions. For the zero mode, we can construct a random lattice fermion without a doubling and quite large systems (up to $801\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}801)$ are treated numerically. We clearly demonstrate that the zero mode is given by a critical wave function. Its multifractal behavior is also compared with the effective field theory.
Anderson localization is studied for two flavors of massless Dirac fermions in two-dimensional space perturbed by static disorder that is invariant under a chiral symmetry (chS) and a time-reversal symmetry (TRS) operation which, when squared, is equal either to plus or minus the identity. The former TRS (symmetry class BDI) can, for example, be realized when the Dirac fermions emerge from spinless fermions hopping on a two-dimensional lattice with a linear energy dispersion such as the honeycomb lattice (graphene) or the square lattice with $\ensuremath{\pi}$ flux per plaquette. The latter TRS is realized by the surface states of three-dimensional Z2{\mathbb{Z}}_{2}^{\phantom{\rule{4pt}{0ex}}}Z2​-topological band insulators in symmetry class CII. In the phase diagram parametrized by the disorder strengths, there is an infrared stable line of critical points for both symmetry classes BDI and CII. Here we discuss a ``global phase diagram'' in which disordered Dirac fermion systems in all three chiral symmetry classes, AIII, CII, and BDI, occur in four quadrants, sharing one corner which represents the clean Dirac fermion limit. This phase diagram also includes symmetry classes AII [e.g., appearing at the surface of a disordered three-dimensional Z2{\mathbb{Z}}_{2}^{\phantom{\rule{4pt}{0ex}}}Z2​-topological band insulator in the spin-orbit (symplectic) symmetry class] and D (e.g., the random bond Ising model in two dimensions) as boundaries separating regions of the phase diagram belonging to the three chS classes AIII, BDI, and CII. Moreover, we argue that physics of Anderson localization in the CII phase can be presented in terms of a non-linear-$\ensuremath{\sigma}$ model (NL$\ensuremath{\sigma}$M) with a Z2{\mathbb{Z}}_{2}^{\phantom{\rule{4pt}{0ex}}}Z2​-topological term. We thereby complete the derivation of topological or Wess-Zumino-Novikov-Witten terms in the NL$\ensuremath{\sigma}$M description of disordered fermionic models in all ten symmetry classes relevant to Anderson localization in two spatial dimensions.
Gade [Nucl. Phys. B 398,398,398, 499 (1993)] has shown that the density of states for a particle hopping on a two-dimensional bipartite lattice in the presence of weak disorder and in the absence of time-reversal symmetry (chiral unitary universality class) is anomalous in the vicinity of the band center $\ensuremath{\varepsilon}=0$ whenever the disorder preserves the sublattice symmetry. More precisely, using a nonlinear $\ensuremath{\sigma}$ model that encodes the sublattice (chiral) symmetry and the absence of time-reversal symmetry she argues that the disorder average density of states diverges as $|\ensuremath{\varepsilon}{|}^{\ensuremath{-}1}\mathrm{exp}(\ensuremath{-}c|\mathrm{ln}\ensuremath{\varepsilon}{|}^{\ensuremath{\kappa}})$ with c some nonuniversal positive constant and $\ensuremath{\kappa}=1/2$ a universal exponent. Her analysis has been extended to the case when time-reversal symmetry is present (chiral orthogonal universality class) for which the same exponent $\ensuremath{\kappa}=1/2$ was predicted. Motrunich et al. [Phys. Rev. B 65,65,65, 064206 (2002)] have argued that the exponent $\ensuremath{\kappa}=1/2$ does not apply to the density of states in the chiral orthogonal universality class. They predict that $\ensuremath{\kappa}=2/3$ instead. We confirm the analysis of Motrunich et al. within a field theory for two flavors of Dirac fermions subjected to two types of weak uncorrelated random potentials: a purely imaginary vector potential and a complex valued mass potential. This model is the naive continuum limit of a model describing a particle hopping on a square lattice in the background of a $\ensuremath{\pi}$-flux phase and subjected to weak disorder that preserves the sublattice symmetry and time-reversal invariance. By commonly held universality arguments, this model is believed to belong to the chiral orthogonal universality class. Our calculation relies in an essential way on the existence of infinitely many local composite operators with negative anomalous scaling dimensions.
Abstract. We study the superfluid properties of attractively interacting fermions hopping in a family of 2D and 3D lattices in the presence of synthetic gauge fields having pi-flux per plaquette. The reason for such a choice is that the pi-flux cubic lattice displays Dirac points and that decreasing the hopping coefficient in a spatial direction (say, tz) these Dirac points are unaltered: it is then possible to study the 3D-2D interpolation towards the pi-flux square lattice. We also consider the lattice configuration providing the continuous interpolation between the 2D pi-flux square lattice and the honeycomb geometry. We investigate by a mean field analysis the effects of interaction and dimensionality on the superfluid gap, chemical potential and critical temperature, showing that these quantities continuously vary along the patterns of interpolation. In the two-dimensional cases at zero temperature and at half filling there is a quantum phase transition occurring at a critical (negative) interaction Uc presenting a linear critical exponent for the gap as a function of |U − Uc|. We show that in three dimensions this quantum phase transition is again retrieved, pointing out that the critical exponent for the gap changes from 1 to 1/2 for each finite value of tz. ar X iv
We investigate the physics of fermions on a square lattice with π flux, subjected to disordered random Z_{2} gauge fields that arise from flux defects, i.e., plaquettes with zero flux. At half filling, where the system possesses BDI symmetry, we show that a new class of critical states is realized, with the states at zero energy showing a multifractal character that depends on the flux defect concentration c and local correlation between defects. For any concentration of flux defects, we find a nonfreezing multifractal spectrum with a tendency toward termination. We characterize this class of critical states by uncovering a robust relation between the conductivity and the Lyapunov exponent, which is satisfied by the states irrespective of the concentration or the local correlations between the flux defects. We demonstrate that renormalization group methods, based on perturbing the Dirac point, fail to capture this new class of critical states. This Letter not only offers new challenges to the theory of disordered systems in the chiral classes, but is also likely to be useful in understanding a variety of problems where fermions interact with discrete gauge fields.