Multifractality at the quantum Hall transition: beyond the parabolic paradigm.

We present an ultrahigh-precision numerical study of the spectrum of multifractal exponents Deltaq characterizing anomalous scaling of wave function moments |psi|2q at the quantum Hall transition. The result reads Deltaq=2q(1-q)[b0+b1(q-1/2)2+cdots, three dots, centered], with b0=0.1291+/-0.0002 and b1=0.0029+/-0.0003. The central finding is that the spectrum is not exactly parabolic: b1 not equal0. This rules out a class of theories of the Wess-Zumino-Witten type proposed recently as possible conformal field theories of the quantum Hall critical point.

Exact relations between multifractal exponents at the Anderson transition.

Two exact relations between mutlifractal exponents are shown to hold at the critical point of the Anderson localization transition. The first relation implies a symmetry of the multifractal spectrum linking the exponents with indices q<1/2 to those with q>1/2. The second relation connects the wave-function multifractality to that of Wigner delay times in a system with a lead attached.

Surface criticality and multifractality at localization transitions.

We develop the concept of surface multifractality for localization-delocalization (LD) transitions in disordered electronic systems. We point out that the critical behavior of various observables related to wave functions near a boundary at a LD transition is different from that in the bulk. We illustrate this point with a calculation of boundary critical and multifractal behavior at the 2D spin quantum Hall transition and in a 2D metal at scales below the localization length.