Supersymmetry and theory of disordered metals

Abstract

Abstract Theoretical studies of the motion of an electron in a disordered system have led to a number of remarkable results especially those concerned with localization and with the importance of dimensionality. The theoretical approaches previously used run into some severe technical difficulties. This article sets out the bases of the recently introduced supersymmetry method which has already, as the article shows, provided unified derivations of the major results in this subject, free of the technical problems. The method reduces the systems it treats to field-theoretical models involving both bosons and fermions.