Re-entrance into insulator phase in two-dimensional disordered system with spin–orbit coupling in the presence of magnetic field

Abstract

We investigate the localization–delocalization transition of a two-dimensional system with spin–orbit interaction (SOI) in a perpendicular magnetic field. We find that if the system is set between two Landau levels, the increase of SOI strength g can drive the system first from localization state into delocalization state, then back to localization state. Scaling analysis shows that near the transition points the behavior of the correlation length ξ can be well described by function ξ = A exp ( α | g c − g | ) , with | g c − g | being the distance from the transition point, A being a constant and α being exponent, suggests that Kosterlitz–Thouless nature of the transitions, different from the continuous transition in the absence of the magnetic field.