QUANTUM INTERFERENCE EFFECTS IN INHOMOGENEOUS MAGNETIC-FIELDS

An approach is developed to study quantum transport in disordered conductors in the presence of inhomogeneous magnetic fields, which have the effect of introducing Berry phases. The possibility is raised of isolating and probing quantum interference phenomena through their sensitivity to the inhomogeneity of applied magnetic fields. Using semiclassical and diagrammatic techniques, the ideas are illustrated with applications to three examples: anomalous weak-field magnetoconductance, conductance oscillations in mesoscopic multiply-connected structures, and sample-dependent mesoscopic conductance variations.