We study a class of Schrödinger operators on $\Z^2$ with a random potential decaying as $|x|^{-\dex}$, $0<\dex\leq\frac12$, in the limit of small disorder strength $λ$. For the critical exponent $\dex=\frac12$, we prove that the localization length of eigenfunctions is bounded below by $2^{λ^{-\frac14+η}}$, while for $0<\dex<\frac12$, the lower bound is $λ^{-\frac{2-η}{1-2\dex}}$, for any $η>0$. These estimates "interpolate" between the lower bound $λ^{-2+η}$ due to recent work of Schlag-Shubin-Wolff for $\dex=0$, and pure a.c. spectrum for $\dex>\frac12$ demonstrated in recent work of Bourgain.
Using Moutard transformations we show how explicit examples of two-dimensional Schroedinger operators with fast decaying potential and multidimensional $L_2$-kernel may be constructed
We investigate wavepacket solutions for time-dependent Schoedinger equation in the presence of an exponentially decaying potential. Assuming for travelling wave solutions the phase to be a linear combination of the space and time coordinates, we obtain two distinct wavepacket solutions for the Schroedinger equation. The wavepackets counterpropagate in space at a constant velocity without any distortion or spreading thus retain their initial form at arbitrarily large distances.
We consider discrete one-dimensional random Schroedinger operators with decaying matrix-valued, independent potentials. We show that if the l^2-norm of this potential has finite expectation value with respect to the product measure then almost surely the Schroedinger operator has an interval of purely absolutely continuous (ac) spectrum. We apply this result to Schroedinger operators on a strip. This work provides a new proof and generalizes a result obtained by Delyon, Simon, and Souillard.
As part of condensed-matter physics, the field of Anderson localization concerns the study of conductance of electrons in a random medium. We summarize and explain the results obtained in "A new numerical approach to Anderson (de)localization" from a physics perspective. Further, we discover a relationship with the so-called Thouless criterion - a dimensionless scaling parameter often used as the sole indicator whether or not the system exhibits Anderson localization.
We prove long time Anderson localization for nonlinear random Schroedinger equation in $\ell^2$ by making a Birkoff normal form type transform to creat an energy barrier where there is essentially no mode propagation. One of the new features is that this transform is in a small neighborhood enabling us to treat "rough" data, where there are no moment conditions. The formulation of the present result is inspired by the RAGE theorem.
For certain one-dimensional Schroedinger-type difference operators with a complex potential, a "complete" set of exponentially decaying eigenvectors is shown to exist. "Completeness" entails that the parameters involved are obtained through evaluation of analytic functions on a Riemann surface.
We show that fixed energy scattering measurements for the magnetic Schroedinger operator uniquely determine the magnetic field and electric potential in dimensions $n \geq 3$. The magnetic potential, its first derivatives, and the electric potential are assumed to be exponentially decaying. This improves an earlier result of Eskin and Ralston which considered potentials with many derivatives. The proof is close to arguments in inverse boundary problems, and is based on constructing complex geometrical optics solutions to the Schroedinger equation via a pseudodifferential conjugation argument.
We prove a localization theorem for continuous ergodic Schrödinger operators $ H_ω:= H_0 + V_ω$, where the random potential $ V_ω$ is a nonnegative Anderson-type perturbation of the periodic operator $ H_0$. We consider a lower spectral band edge of $ σ(H_0) $, say $ E= 0 $, at a gap which is preserved by the perturbation $ V_ω$. Assuming that all Floquet eigenvalues of $ H_0$, which reach the spectral edge 0 as a minimum, have there a positive definite Hessian, we conclude that there exists an interval $ I $ containing 0 such that $ H_ω$ has only pure point spectrum in $ I $ for almost all $ …
We investigate the relation between broken time-reversal symmetry and localization of the electronic states, in the explicitly tractable case of the Landau model. We first review, for the reader's convenience, the symmetries of the Landau Hamiltonian and the relation of the latter with the Segal-Bargmann representation of Quantum Mechanics. We then study the localization properties of the Landau eigenstates by applying an abstract version of the Balian-Low Theorem to the operators corresponding to the coordinates of the centre of the cyclotron orbit in the classical theory. Our proof of the Ba…
This review is an extended version of my mini course at the Etats de la recherche: Operateurs de Schroedinger aleatoires at the Universite Paris 13 in June 2002, a summer school organized by Frederic Klopp. These lecture notes try to give some of the basics of random Schroedinger operators. They are meant for nonspecialists and require only minor previous knowledge about functional analysis and probability theory. Nevertheless this survey includes complete proofs of Lifshitz tails and Anderson localization.
We show persistence of both Anderson and dynamical localization in Schrödinger operators with non-positive (attractive) random decaying potential. We consider an Anderson-type Schrödinger operator with a non-positive ergodic random potential, and multiply the random potential by a decaying envelope function. If the envelope function decays slower than $|x|^{-2}$ at infinity, we prove that the operator has infinitely many eigenvalues below zero. For envelopes decaying as $|x|^{-α}$ at infinity, we determine the number of bound states below a given energy $E<0$, asymptotically as $α\downarrow 0$…
In this paper we consider the discrete one-dimensional Schroedinger operator with quasi-periodic potential v_n = λv (x + n ω). We assume that the frequency ωsatisfies a strong Diophantine condition and that the function v belongs to a Gevrey class, and it satisfies a transversality condition. Under these assumptions we prove - in the perturbative regime - that for large disorder λand for most frequencies ωthe operator satisfies Anderson localization. Moreover, we show that the associated Lyapunov exponent is positive for all energies, and that the Lyapunov exponent and the integrated density o…
We investigate the eigenvalues of perturbed spherical Schrödinger operators under the assumption that the perturbation $q(x)$ satisfies $x q(x) \in L^1(0,1)$. We show that the square roots of eigenvalues are given by the square roots of the unperturbed eigenvalues up to an decaying error depending on the behavior of $q(x)$ near $x=0$. Furthermore, we provide sets of spectral data which uniquely determine $q(x)$.
I consider random Schrödinger operators with exponentially decaying single site potential, which is allowed to change sign. For this model, I prove Anderson localization both in the sense of exponentially decaying eigenfunctions and dynamical localization. Furthermore, the results imply a Wegner-type estimate strong enough to use in classical forms of multi-scale analysis.
We prove new and explicit formulas for the wave operators of Schroedinger operators in R^3. These formulas put into light the very special role played by the generator of dilations and validate the topological approach of Levinson's theorem introduced in a previous publication. Our results hold for general (not spherically symmetric) potentials decaying fast enough at infinity, without any assumption on the absence of eigenvalue or resonance at 0-energy.
We give an explicit formula for the wave operators for Schroedinger operators on the half-line with a potential decaying strictly faster than the polynomial of degree minus two. The formula consists of the main term given by the scattering operator and a function of the generator of the dilation group, and a Hilbert-Schmidt remainder term. Our method is based on the elementary construction of the generalized Fourier transform in terms of the solutions of the Volterra integral equations. As a corollary, a topological interpretation of Levinson's theorem is established via an index theorem appro…
We study localization effects of disorder on the spectral and dynamical properties of Schroedinger operators with random potentials. The new results include exponentially decaying bounds on the transition amplitude and related projection kernels, including in the mean. These are derived through the analysis of fractional moments of the resolvent, which are finite due to the resonance-diffusing effects of the disorder. The main difficulty which has up to now prevented an extension of this method to the continuum can be traced to the lack of a uniform bound on the Lifshitz-Krein spectral shift a…
We justify the linear response theory for an ergodic Schroedinger operator with magnetic field within the non-interacting particle approximation, and derive a Kubo formula for the electric conductivity tensor. To achieve that, we construct suitable normed spaces of measurable covariant operators where the Liouville equation can be solved uniquely. If the Fermi level falls into a region of localization, we recover the well-known Kubo-Streda formula for the quantum Hall conductivity at zero temperature.
We study localisation effects of strong disorder on the spectral and dynamical properties of (matrix and scalar) Schroedinger operators with non-monotone random potentials, on the d-dimensional lattice. Our results include dynamical localisation, i.e. exponentially decaying bounds on the transition amplitude in the mean. They are derived through the study of fractional moments of the resolvent, which are finite due to resonance-diffusing effects of the disorder. One of the byproducts of the analysis is a nearly optimal Wegner estimate. A particular example of the class of systems covered by ou…
We consider a one-dimensional continuum Anderson model where the potential decays in average like $|x|^{-α}$, $α>0$. We show dynamical localization for $0<α<\frac12$ and provide control on the decay of the eigenfunctions.
We consider a two dimensional magnetic Schroedinger operator on a square lattice with a spatially stationary random magnetic field. We prove Anderson localization near the spectral edges. We use a new approach to establish a Wegner estimate that does not rely on the monotonicity of the energy on the random parameters.
We consider a two dimensional magnetic Schroedinger operator with a spatially stationary random magnetic field. We assume that the magnetic field has a positive lower bound and that it has Fourier modes on arbitrarily short scales. We prove the Wegner estimate at arbitrary energy, i.e. we show that the averaged density of states is finite throughout the whole spectrum. We also prove Anderson localization at the bottom of the spectrum.
We develop a new approach for the Anderson localization problem. The implementation of this method yields strong numerical evidence leading to a (surprising to many) conjecture: The two dimensional discrete random Schroedinger operator with small disorder allows states that are dynamically delocalized with positive probability. This approach is based on a recent result by Abakumov-Liaw-Poltoratski which is rooted in the study of spectral behavior under rank-one perturbations, and states that every non-zero vector is almost surely cyclic for the singular part of the operator. The numerical work…
As a supplement of our previous work, we consider the localized region of the random Schroedinger operators on $l^2({\bf Z}^d)$ and study the point process composed of their eigenvalues and corresponding localization centers. For the Anderson model, we show that, this point process in the natural scaling limit converges in distribution to the Poisson process on the product space of energy and space. In other models with suitable Wegner-type bounds, we can at least show that any limiting point processes are infinitely divisible.
We study Schrödinger operators on $L^2 (\RR^d)$ and $\ell^2(\ZZ^d)$ with a random potential of alloy-type. The single-site potential is assumed to be exponentially decaying but not necessarily of fixed sign. In the continuum setting we require a generalized step-function shape. Wegner estimates are bounds on the average number of eigenvalues in an energy interval of finite box restrictions of these types of operators. In the described situation a Wegner estimate which is polynomial in the volume of the box and linear in the size of the energy interval holds. We apply the established Wegner est…
It is known that a one-dimensional quantum particle is localized when subjected to an arbitrarily weak random potential. It is conjectured that localization also occurs for an arbitrarily weak potential generated from the nonlinear skew-shift dynamics: $v_n=2\cos\left(\binom{n}{2}ω+ny+x\right)$ with $ω$ an irrational number. Recently, Han, Schlag, and the second author derived a finite-size criterion in the case when $ω$ is the golden mean, which allows to derive the positivity of the infinite-volume Lyapunov exponent from three conditions imposed at a fixed, finite scale. Here we numerically …
We consider a one-frequency, quasi-periodic, block Jacobi operator, whose blocks are generic matrix-valued analytic functions. We establish Anderson localization for this type of operator under the assumption that the coupling constant is large enough but independent of the frequency. This generalizes a result of J. Bourgain and S. Jitomirskaya on localization for band lattice, quasi-periodic Schroedinger operators.
We prove spectral and dynamical localization on a cubic-lattice quantum graph with a random potential. We use multiscale analysis and show how to obtain the necessary estimates in analogy to the well-studied case of random Schroedinger operators.
We study generalised magnetic Schroedinger operators of the form H(A,V)=h(P^A)+V, where h is an elliptic symbol, P^A is the generator of the magnetic translations, with A a vector potential defining a variable magnetic field B, and V is a scalar potential. We are mainly interested in anisotropic functions B and V. The first step is to show that these operators are affiliated to suitable C*-algebras of (magnetic) pseudodifferential operators. A study of the quotient of these C*-algebras by the ideal of compact operators leads to formulae for the essential spectrum of H(A,V), expressed as a unio…
We establish strong dynamical localization for a class of multi-particle Anderson models in a Euclidean space with an alloy-type random potential and a sub-exponentially decaying interaction of infinite range. For the first time in the mathematical literature, the uniform decay bounds on the eigenfunction correlators at low energies are proved, in the multi-particle continuous configuration space, in the norm-distance and not in the Hausdorff pseudo-metric.
We consider a one-dimensional Anderson model where the potential decays in average like $n^{-α}$, $α>0$. This simple model is known to display a rich phase diagram with different kinds of spectrum arising as the decay rate $α$ varies. We review an article of Kiselev, Last and Simon where the authors show a.c. spectrum in the super-critical case $α>\frac12$, a transition from singular continuous to pure point spectrum in the critical case $α=\frac12$, and dense pure point spectrum in the sub-critical case $α<\frac12$. We present complete proofs of the cases $α\ge\frac12$ and simplify some argum…
We define a Schrödinger operator on the half-space with a discontinuous magnetic field having a piecewise-constant strength and a uniform direction. Motivated by applications in the theory of superconductivity, we study the infimum of the spectrum of the operator. We give sufficient conditions on the strength and the direction of the magnetic field such that the aforementioned infimum is an eigenvalue of a reduced model operator on the half-plane. We use the Schrödinger operator on the half-space to study a new semiclassical problem in bounded domains of the space, considering a magnetic Neuma…
We adapt a simplified version of the Multi-Scale Analysis presented in \cite{C11} to multi-particle tight-binding Anderson models. Combined with a recent eigenvalue concentration bound for multi-particle systems \cite{C10}, the new method leads to a simple proof of the multi-particle dynamical localization with more optimal decay bounds on eigenfunctions than in \cite{CS09b,AW09a,AW09b}, for a large class of strongly mixing random potentials. All earlier results required the random potential to be IID. We also extend the result on multi-particle localization to models with a rapidly decaying i…
We investigate spectral and dynamical localization of a quantum system of $ n $ particles on $ \mathbb{R}^d $ which are subject to a random potential and interact through a pair potential which may have infinite range. We establish two conditions which ensure spectral and dynamical localization near the bottom of the spectrum of the $ n $-particle system: i)localization is established in the regime of weak interactions supposing one-particle localization, and ii)localization is also established under a Lifshitz-tail type condition on the sparsity of the spectrum. In case of polynomially decayi…
By using the Moutard transformation of two-dimensional Schroedinger operators we derive a procedure for constructing explicit examples of such operators with rational fast decaying potentials and degenerate $L_2$-kernels (this construction was sketched in arXiv:0706.3595) and show that if we take some of these potentials as the Cauchy data for the Novikov-Veselov equation (a two-dimensional version of the Korteweg-de Vries equation), then the corresponding solutions blow up in a finite time
We study multi-particle interactive quantum disordered systems on a polynomially-growing countable connected graph (Z,E). The novelty is to give localization bounds uniform in finite or infinite volumes (subgraphs) in Z^N as well as for the whole of Z^N. Such bounds are proved here by means of a comprehensive fixed-energy multi-particle multi-scale analysis. Another feature of the paper is that we consider -- for the first time in the literature -- an infinite-range (although fast-decaying) interaction between particles. For the models under consideration we establish (1) exponential spectral …
We study continuous Anderson Hamiltonians with non-degenerate single site probability distribution of bounded support, without any regularity condition on the single site probability distribution. We prove the existence of a strong form of localization at the bottom of the spectrum, which includes Anderson localization (pure point spectrum with exponentially decaying eigenfunctions) with finite multiplicity of eigenvalues, dynamical localization (no spreading of wave packets under the time evolution), decay of eigenfunctions correlations, and decay of the Fermi projections. We also prove log-H…
We study the spectrum and dynamics of a one-dimensional discrete Dirac operator in a random potential obtained by damping an i.i.d. environment with an envelope of type $n^{-α}$ for $α>0$. We recover all the spectral regimes previously obtained for the analogue Anderson model in a random decaying potential, namely: absolutely continuous spectrum in the super-critical region $α>\frac12$; a transition from pure point to singular continuous spectrum in the critical region $α=\frac12$; and pure point spectrum in the sub-critical region $α<\frac12$. From the dynamical point of view, delocalization …
The two main results of the article are concerned with Anderson Localization for one-dimensional lattice Schroedinger operators with quasi-periodic potentials with d frequencies. First, in the case d = 1 or 2, it is proved that the spectrum is pure-point with exponentially decaying eigenfunctions for all potentials (defined in terms of a trigonometric polynomial on the d-dimensional torus) for which the Lyapounov exponents are strictly positive for all frequencies and all energies. Second, for every non-constant real-analytic potential and with a Diophantine set of d frequencies, a lower bound…
We study a random Schroedinger operator, the Laplacian with random Dirac delta potentials on a torus T^d_L = R^d/LZ^d, in the thermodynamic limit L\to\infty, for dimension d=2. The potentials are located on a randomly distorted lattice Z^2+ω, where the displacements are i.i.d. random variables sampled from a compactly supported probability density. We prove that, if the disorder is sufficiently weak, there exists a certain energy threshold E_0>0 above which exponential localization of the eigenfunctions must break down. In fact we can rule out any decay faster than a certain polynomial one. Ou…
We prove a limiting absorption principle for linear Schroedinger equations in Lebesgue spaces. In particular, we do not require any polynomially decaying weights as in the classical Agmon estimate. The methods used are close to the Stein-Tomas theorem in harmonic analysis.
As was noted already by A. N. Kolmogorov, any random variable has a Bernoulli component. This observation provides a tool for the extension of results which are known for Bernoulli random variables to arbitrary distributions. Two applications are provided here: i. an anti-concentration bound for a class of functions of independent random variables, where probabilistic bounds are extracted from combinatorial results, and ii. a proof, based on the Bernoulli case, of spectral localization for random Schroedinger operators with arbitrary probability distributions for the single site coupling const…
In this paper we study random perturbations of first order elliptic operators with periodic potentials. We are mostly interested in Hamiltonians modeling graphene antidot lattices with impurities. The unperturbed operator $H_0 := D_S + V_0$ is the sum of a Dirac-like operator $D_S$ plus a periodic matrix valued potential $V_0$, and is assumed to have an open gap. The random potential $V_ω$ is of Anderson-type with independent, identically distributed coupling constants and moving centers, with absolutely continuous probability distributions. We prove band edge localization, namely that there e…
We consider perturbations of quasi-periodic Schrödinger operators on the integer lattice with analytic sampling functions by decaying potentials and seek decay conditions under which various spectral properties are preserved. In the (almost) reducibility regime we prove that for perturbations with finite first moment, the essential spectrum remains purely absolutely continuous and the newly created discrete spectrum must be finite in each gap of the unperturbed spectrum. We also prove that for fixed phase, Anderson localization occurring for almost all frequencies in the regime of positive Lya…
We consider the isotropic XY quantum spin chain in a random external field in the $z$ direction, with single site distributions given by i.i.d. random variables times the critical decaying envelope $j^{-1/2}$. Our motivation is the study of many-body localization. We investigate transport properties in terms of polynomial Lieb-Robinson (PLR) bounds. We prove a zero-velocity PLR bound for large disorder strength $λ$ and for small $λ$ we show a partial converse, which suggests the existence of non-trivial transport in the model.
We consider a periodic Schroedinger operator and the composite Wannier functions corresponding to a relevant family of its Bloch bands, separated by a gap from the rest of the spectrum. We study the associated localization functional introduced by Marzari and Vanderbilt, and we prove some results about the existence and exponential localization of its minimizers, in dimension d < 4. The proof exploits ideas and methods from the theory of harmonic maps between Riemannian manifolds.
We prove spectral localization for infinite metric graphs with a self-adjoint Laplace operator and a random potential. To do so we adapt the multiscale analysis (MSA) from the R^d-case to metric graphs. In the MSA a covering of the graph is needed which is obtained from a uniform polynomial growth of the graph. The geometric restrictions of the graph include a uniform bound on the edge lengths. As boundary conditions we allow all local settings which give a lower bounded self-adjoint operator with an associated quadratic form. The result is spectral localization (i.e. pure point spectrum) with…
We study a random Schroedinger operator, the Laplacian with N independently uniformly distributed random delta potentials on flat tori T^d_L = R^d/LZ^d, d = 2, 3, where L > 0 is large. We determine a condition in terms of the size of the torus L, the density of the potentials ρ= N/L^d and the energy of the eigenfunction E such any such eigenfunctions will with nonzero probability be uniformly distributed on the entire torus. We remark that the equidistribution we prove here is still consistent with a localized regime, where the localization length is much larger than the size of the torus. In …
We consider a magnetic Schrödinger operator in two dimensions. The magnetic field is given as the sum of a large and constant magnetic field and a random magnetic field. Moreover, we allow for an additional deterministic potential as well as a magnetic field which are both periodic. We show that the spectrum of this operator is contained in broadened bands around the Landau levels and that the edges of these bands consist of pure point spectrum with exponentially decaying eigenfunctions. The proof is based on a recent Wegner estimate obtained in \cite{EH2} and a multiscale analysis.
Electronic properties of amorphous or non-crystalline disordered solids are often modelled by one-particle Schroedinger operators with random potentials which are ergodic with respect to the full group of Euclidean translations. We give a short, reasonably self-contained survey of rigorous results on such operators, where we allow for the presence of a constant magnetic field. We compile robust properties of the integrated density of states like its self-averaging, uniqueness and leading high-energy growth. Results on its leading low-energy fall-off, that is, on its Lifshits tail, are then dis…
We present a new approach to the eigensystem multiscale analysis (EMSA) for random Schrödinger operators that relies on the Wegner estimate. The EMSA treats all energies of the finite volume operator in an energy interval at the same time, simultaneously establishing localization of all eigenfunctions with eigenvalues in the energy interval with high probability. It implies all the usual manifestations of localization (pure point spectrum with exponentially decaying eigenfunctions, dynamical localization). The new method removes the restrictive level spacing hypothesis used in the previous ver…
We consider one-dimensional difference Schroedinger equations on the discrete line with a potential generated by evaluating a real-analytic potential function V(x) on the one-dimensional torus along an orbit of the shift x-->x+nw. If the Lyapunov exponent is positive for all energies and w, then the integrated density of states is absolutely continuous for almost every w. In this work we establish the formation of a dense set of gaps in the spectrum. Our approach is based on an induction on scales argument, and is therefore both constructive as well as quantitative. Resonances between eigenfun…
The fractional moment method, which was initially developed in the discrete context for the analysis of the localization properties of lattice random operators, is extended to apply to random Schrödinger operators in the continuum. One of the new results for continuum operators are exponentially decaying bounds for the mean value of transition amplitudes, for energies throughout the localization regime. An obstacle which up to now prevented an extension of this method to the continuum is the lack of a uniform bound on the Lifshitz-Krein spectral shift associated with the local potential terms.…
The present paper is devoted to the study of spectral properties of random Schroedinger operators. Using a finite section method for Toeplitz matrices, we prove a Wegner estimate for some alloy type models where the single site potential is allowed to change sign. The results apply to the corresponding discrete model, too. In certain disorder regimes we are able to prove the Lipschitz continuity of the integrated density of states and/or localization near spectral edges.
We prove spatiotemporal algebraically decaying estimates for the density of the solutions of the linearly damped nonlinear Schrödinger equation with localized driving, when supplemented with vanishing boundary conditions. Their derivation is made via a scheme, which incorporates suitable weighted Sobolev spaces and a time-weighted energy method. Numerical simulations examining the dynamics (in the presence of physically relevant examples of driver types and driving amplitude/linear loss regimes), showcase that the suggested decaying rates, are proved relevant in describing the transient dynami…
