Finite-length Lyapunov exponents and conductance for quasi-1D disordered solids

Abstract The transfer matrix method is applied to finite quasi-1D disordered samples attached to perfect leads. The model is described by structured band matrices with random and regular entries. We investigate numerically the level-spacing distribution for finite-length Lyapunov exponents as well as the conductance and its fluctuations for different channel numbers and sample sizes. A comparison is made with theoretical predictions and with numerical results recently obtained with the scattering matrix approach. The role of the coupling and finite size effects is also discussed.