Impact of dimensionality on universality of quantum Hall transitions
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 , disorder, and external magnetic field . 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 ( case) and a crossover toward the three-dimensional (3D) Gaussian unitary ensemble ( 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.