Quantum thermostatted disordered systems and sensitivity under compression

A one-dimensional quantum system with off diagonal disorder, consisting of a sample of conducting regions randomly interspersed within potential barriers is considered. Results mainly concerning the large N limit are presented. In particular, the effect of compression on the transmission coefficient is investigated. A numerical method to simulate such a system, for a physically relevant number of barriers, is proposed. It is shown that the disordered model converges to the periodic case as N increases, with a rate of convergence which depends on the disorder degree. Compression always leads to a decrease of the transmission coefficient which may be exploited to design nano-technological sensors. Effective choices for the physical parameters to improve the sensitivity are provided. Eventually large fluctuations and rate functions are analysed.