Localization of soft modes at the depinning transition

Abstract

We characterize the soft modes of the dynamical matrix at the depinning transition, and compare it with the properties of the Anderson model (and long--range generalizations). The density of states at the edge of the spectrum displays a universal linear tail, different from the Lifshitz tails. The eigenvectors are instead very similar in the two matrix ensembles. We focus on the ground state (soft mode), which represents the epicenter of avalanche instabilities. We expect it to be localized in all finite dimensions, and make a clear connection between its localization length and the Larkin length of the depinning model. In the fully connected model, the weak--strong pinning transition coincides with a peculiar localization transition of the ground state.