Towards the Realization of Systematic, Self-Consistent Typical Medium Theory for Interacting Disordered Systems

Abstract

This work is devoted to the development of a systematic method for studying electron localization. The developed method is Typical Medium Dynamical Cluster Approximation (TMDCA) using the Anderson-Hubbard model. The TMDCA incorporates non-local correlations beyond the local typical environment in a self-consistent way utilizing the momentum resolved typical-density-of-states and the non-local hybridization function to characterize the localization transition. For the (non-interacting) Anderson model, I show that the TMDCA provides a proper description of the Anderson localization transition in one, two, and three dimensions. In three-dimensions, as a function of cluster size, the TMDCA systematically recovers the re-entrance behavior of the mobility edge and obtains the correct critical disorder strength for the various disorder configurations and the associated \textit{universal order-parameter-critical-exponent} $\beta$ and in lower-dimensions, the well-knowing scaling relations are reproduced in agreement with numerical exact results. The TMDCA is also extended to treat diagonal and off-diagonal disorder by generalizing the local Blackman-Esterling-Berk and the importance of finite cluster is demonstrated. It was further generalized for multiband systems. Applying the TMDCA to weakly interaction electronic systems, I show that incorporating Coulomb interactions into disordered electron system result in two competing tendencies: the suppression of the current due to correlations and the screening of the disorder leading to the homogenizing of the system. It is shown that the critical disorder strength ($W_c^U$), required to localize all states, increases with increasing interactions ($U$); implying that the metallic phase is stabilized by interactions. Using the results, a soft pseudogap at the intermediate $W$ close to $W_c^U$ is predicted independent of filling and dimension, and I demonstrate in three-dimensions that the mobility edge is preserved as long as the chemical potential, $\mu$, is at or beyond the mobility edge energy ($\omega_\epsilon$). A two-particle formalism of electron localization is also developed within the TMDCA and used to calculate the direct-current conductivity, enabling direct comparison with experiments. Note significantly, the TMDCA benchmarks well with numerical exact results with a dramatic reduction in computational cost, enabling the incorporation of material's specific details as such provide an avenue for the possibility of studying electron localization in real materials.