Anderson transition in systems with chiral symmetry

Antonio M. Garcia-Garcia, Emilio Cuevas

Published 2006-02-14, updated 2007-01-01Version 3

Anderson localization is a universal quantum feature caused by destructive interference. On the other hand chiral symmetry is a key ingredient in different problems of theoretical physics: from nonperturbative QCD to highly doped semiconductors. We investigate the interplay of these two phenomena in the context of a three-dimensional disordered system. We show that chiral symmetry induces an Anderson transition (AT) in the region close to the band center. Typical properties at the AT such as multifractality and critical statistics are quantitatively affected by this additional symmetry. The origin of the AT has been traced back to the power-law decay of the eigenstates; this feature may also be relevant in systems without chiral symmetry.