A Monte Carlo approach to determine conductance distributions in quasi-one-dimensional disordered wires

A detailed analysis of the statistical distribution of conductance P(g) of quasi-one-dimensional disordered wires in the metal-insulator crossover is presented. The distribution P(g) is obtained from a Monte Carlo solution of the Dorokhov, Mello, Pereyra and Kumar (DMPK) scaling equation, showing full agreement with 'tight-binding' numerical calculations of bulk disordered wires. Perturbation theory is shown to be valid even for mean dimensionless conductance values < g > of the order of 1. In the crossover from diffusive to localized regimes (< g > < 1 >), P(g) presents a characteristic shape different from that observed in surface disordered wires. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.