Ever since the first discoveries of the quantum-interference transport in
mesoscopic systems, the electron dephasing times, $\tau_\phi$, in the
concentrated AuPd alloys have been extensively measured. The samples were made
from different sources with different compositions, prepared by different
deposition methods, and various geometries (1D narrow wires, 2D thin films, and
3D thickfilms) were studied. Surprisingly, the low-temperature behavior of
$\tau_\phi$ inferred by different groups over two decades reveals a systematic
correlation with the level of disorder of the sample. At low temperatures,
where $\tau_\phi$ is (nearly) independent of temperature, a scaling
$\tau_\phi^{\rm max} \propto D^{-\alpha}$ is found, where $tau_\phi^{\rm max}$
is the maximum value of $\tau_\phi$ measured in the experiment, $D$ is the
electron diffusion constant, and the exponent $\alpha$ is close to or slightly
larger than 1. We address this nontrivial scaling behavior and suggest that the
most possible origin for this unusual dephasing is due to dynamical structure
defects, while other theoretical explanations may not be totally ruled out.Comment: to appear in Physica E, Proceedings for the International Seminar and
Workshop "Quantum Coherence, Noise, and Decoherence in Nanostructures", 15-26
May 2006, Dresde
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