Anderson localization

E112449

physical phenomenon quantum mechanical phenomenon wave localization phenomenon

Anderson localization is a quantum mechanical phenomenon in which disorder in a material causes electrons or waves to become spatially localized, preventing them from diffusing freely.

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All labels observed (7)

Label	Occurrences
Anderson localization canonical	5
Aizenman–Molchanov method in disordered systems	1
Anderson insulators	1
Anderson localization transition	1
Anderson metal–insulator transition	1
Mott mobility edge	1
“Absence of Diffusion in Certain Random Lattices”	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T948725 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Anderson localization
Context triple: [Philip Anderson, notableWork, Anderson localization]

A. Mott variable-range hopping
Mott variable-range hopping is a theoretical model in condensed matter physics that describes how electrons move through disordered materials at low temperatures via thermally activated tunneling between localized states over variable distances.
B. Mott transition
The Mott transition is a metal–insulator transition in strongly correlated electron systems, where electron–electron interactions drive a material from conducting to insulating behavior without a change in its crystal structure.
C. Eliashberg theory
Eliashberg theory is an extension of BCS superconductivity that incorporates strong-coupling and frequency-dependent effects to more accurately describe real superconducting materials.
D. Kac ring model
The Kac ring model is a simplified mathematical model in statistical mechanics introduced by Mark Kac to illustrate how macroscopic irreversibility can emerge from time-reversible microscopic dynamics.
E. Mott insulator
A Mott insulator is a material that, despite having partially filled electronic bands that should allow conduction, behaves as an electrical insulator due to strong electron–electron interactions.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Anderson localization
Target entity description: Anderson localization is a quantum mechanical phenomenon in which disorder in a material causes electrons or waves to become spatially localized, preventing them from diffusing freely.

A. Mott variable-range hopping
Mott variable-range hopping is a theoretical model in condensed matter physics that describes how electrons move through disordered materials at low temperatures via thermally activated tunneling between localized states over variable distances.
B. Mott transition
The Mott transition is a metal–insulator transition in strongly correlated electron systems, where electron–electron interactions drive a material from conducting to insulating behavior without a change in its crystal structure.
C. Eliashberg theory
Eliashberg theory is an extension of BCS superconductivity that incorporates strong-coupling and frequency-dependent effects to more accurately describe real superconducting materials.
D. Kac ring model
The Kac ring model is a simplified mathematical model in statistical mechanics introduced by Mark Kac to illustrate how macroscopic irreversibility can emerge from time-reversible microscopic dynamics.
E. Mott insulator
A Mott insulator is a material that, despite having partially filled electronic bands that should allow conduction, behaves as an electrical insulator due to strong electron–electron interactions.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (51)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	physical phenomenon ⓘ quantum mechanical phenomenon ⓘ wave localization phenomenon ⓘ
appliesTo	classical waves ⓘ electrons ⓘ light waves ⓘ matter waves ⓘ quantum waves ⓘ sound waves ⓘ
cause	disorder ⓘ random potential fluctuations ⓘ
characterizedBy	absence of diffusion ⓘ disorder-driven metal–insulator transition ⓘ exponential localization length ⓘ localized eigenstates ⓘ mobility edge ⓘ
dependsOn	dimensionality of the system ⓘ energy of the particle or wave ⓘ strength of disorder ⓘ symmetry class of the Hamiltonian ⓘ
describedIn	“Absence of Diffusion in Certain Random Lattices” ⓘ linked to: Anderson localization
effect	exponential decay of wave amplitude ⓘ spatial localization of wavefunctions ⓘ suppression of diffusion ⓘ vanishing dc conductivity in thermodynamic limit ⓘ
field	condensed matter physics ⓘ mesoscopic physics ⓘ quantum transport ⓘ wave physics ⓘ
hasConsequence	breakdown of Ohm’s law ⓘ insulating behavior in strongly disordered systems ⓘ suppression of transport at zero temperature ⓘ
namedAfter	Philip Warren Anderson ⓘ linked to: Philip Anderson
occursIn	acoustic media ⓘ disordered media ⓘ disordered solids ⓘ microwave systems ⓘ optical media ⓘ random lattices ⓘ ultracold atomic gases ⓘ
relatedTo	Anderson metal–insulator transition ⓘ linked to: Anderson localization coherent backscattering ⓘ mesoscopic conductance fluctuations ⓘ quantum interference ⓘ random matrix theory ⓘ scaling theory of localization ⓘ weak localization ⓘ
testedBy	cold atom expansion experiments in disordered potentials ⓘ optical transmission experiments in random media ⓘ transport measurements in disordered conductors ⓘ
yearProposed	1958 ⓘ

How these facts were elicited