Reentrant localization transition in the Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model with random-dimer disorder

Abstract

The question of whether the topological insulators can host a stable nontrivial phase in the presence of spatially correlated disorder is a fundamental question of interest. Based on theoretical investigations, we analyze the effect of random-dimer disorder on the quantum phase transitions of the Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model. We explicitly demonstrate that due to the absence of symmetry, there are no in-gap edge states in certain disordered topological nontrivial gapped phase and the bulk-boundary correspondence breaks down. However, the fractionalized end charges still appear at the ends of the chain. The energy distribution possibility of the in-gap edge states and the possible values of fractionalized end charge are dependent on the concentration of random-dimer disorder. On the other hand, the random-dimer disorder and dimer hopping intertwine in an interesting way. The reentrant localization transition behavior appears, which is evidenced by the fingerprint of the inverse participation ratio, normalized participation ratio, and tunneling conductivity.