A New Spin-Orbit Induced Universality Class in the Quantum Hall Regime?

Original · EN

Using heuristic arguments and numerical simulations it is argued that the critical exponent ν describing the localization length divergence at the quantum Hall transition is modified in the presence of spin-orbit scattering with short range correlations. The exponent is very close to ν=4/3, the percolation correlation length exponent, the prediction of a semi-classical argument. In addition, a region of weakly localized regime, where the localization length is exponentially large, is conjectured.