Longitudinal conductivity at integer quantum Hall transitions

Abstract

We consider a class of two-dimensional tight binding models displaying conical intersections of the Bloch bands at the Fermi level. The setting includes the case of generic transitions between quantum Hall phases. We consider the longitudinal conductivity, as given by Kubo formula, describing the variation of the current after introducing a space-homogeneous electric field, in an adiabatic way. We obtain an explicit expression for the longitudinal conductivity, completely determined by the number of conical intersections and by the shape of the cones. In particular, the formula reproduces the known quantized values found for graphene and for the critical Haldane model. Furthermore, we discuss the validity of Kubo formula in presence of conical intersections in the spectrum, starting from the time-dependent Schrödinger equation. For electric fields which are weak and slowly varying in space and in time, we prove the validity of linear response from quantum dynamics.