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    Impact of dimensionality on universality of quantum Hall transitions

    Qiwei Wan and Yi Zhang*

    • International Center for Quantum Materials, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China

    • *Contact author: frankzhangyi@pku.edu.cn

    Phys. Rev. B 113, 125132 – Published 16 March, 2026

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/h1q8-4hng

    Abstract

    Regardless of the model and platform details, critical phenomena exhibit universal behaviors that are remarkably consistent across various experiments and theories, resulting in a significant scientific success of condensed matter physics. One widely known and commonly used example is the two-dimensional (2D) quantum Hall transition; however, its universal exponents still somewhat conflict between experiments, theoretical models, and numerical ansatzes. We study the critical behaviors of quasi-2D Weyl semimetal systems with a finite thickness Lz>1, disorder, and external magnetic field Bz. By analyzing the scaling behaviors of the localization lengths and local density of states using recursive methods, we find that the finite thickness yields a deviation from the 2D quantum Hall universality (Lz=1 case) and a crossover toward the three-dimensional (3D) Gaussian unitary ensemble (Lz→∞ limit), potentially offering another cause of the discrepancy. Our work demonstrates the often-overlooked importance of auxiliary degrees of freedom, such as thickness, and that 3D quantum Hall physics is not merely a trivial finite-thickness extension of its 2D counterpart.

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