Absence of two-body delocalization transitions in the two-dimensional Anderson-Hubbard model

Abstract

We investigate Anderson localization of two particles moving in a two-dimensional (2D) disordered lattice and coupled by contact interactions. Based on transmission-amplitude calculations for relatively large strip-shaped grids, we find that all pair states are localized in lattices of infinite size. In particular, we show that previous claims of an interaction-induced mobility edge are biased by severe finite-size effects. The localization length of a pair with zero total energy exhibits a nonmonotonic behavior as a function of the interaction strength, characterized by an exponential enhancement in the weakly interacting regime. Our findings also suggest that the many-body mobility edge of the 2D Anderson-Hubbard model disappears in the zero-density limit, irrespective of the (bosonic or fermionic) quantum statistics of the particles.