Universal distribution functions in two-dimensional localized systems

Phys Rev Lett. 2007 Sep 14;99(11):116602. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.99.116602. Epub 2007 Sep 11.

Abstract

We find the conductance distribution function of the two-dimensional Anderson model in the strongly localized limit. The fluctuations of lng grow with lateral size as L1/3 and follow a universal distribution that depends on the type of leads. For narrow leads, it is the Tracy-Widom distribution, which appears in the problem of the largest eigenvalue of random matrices from the Gaussian unitary ensemble and in many other problems like the longest increasing subsequence of a permutation, directed polymers, or polynuclear growth. We also show that for wide leads the conductance follows a related, but different, distribution.