Universal Conductance Distribution in the Quantum Size Regime

Abstract

We study the conductance (g) distribution function of an ensemble of isolated conducting rings, with an Aharonov--Bohm flux. This is done in the discrete spectrum limit, i.e., when the inelastic rate, frequency and temperature are all smaller than the mean level spacing. Over a wide range of g the distribution function exhibits universal behavior P(g)\sim g^{-(4+β)/3}, where β=1 (2) for systems with (without) a time reversal symmetry. The nonuniversal large g tail of this distribution determines the values of high moments.