Nonclassical particle dynamics in high magnetic fields

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Abstract
It is shown that disorder can cause nonclassical particle dynamics in high magnetic fields. The microscopic nature of this phenomenon is illustrated in detail for a two-dimensional system of charged particles in crossed electric (E) and magnetic (B) fields in the presence of a static substrate potential which contains disorder. The adiabatic evolution of the single-particle wave functions is discussed in light of recently established general laws. In the presence of disorder these laws can change dramatically, which leads to nonclassical behavior. We consider a system where disorder leads to discontinuous, quantized periodic motion of the particles between distinct sites. If the electric field is above a critical value, the evolution is nonadiabatic, corresponding to continuous particle motion with the classical drift velocity v=cE/B. Our example has an analogy in one-dimensional conductance without magnetic field.

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