We analyze spectral functions of mesoscopic systems with large dimensionless conductance, which can be described by a universal Hamiltonian. We show that an important class of spectral functions are dominated by one single state only, which implies the existence of well-defined (i.e. infinite-lifetime) quasiparticles. Furthermore, the dominance of a single state enables us to calculate zero-temperature spectral functions with high accuracy using the density-matrix renormalization group. We illustrate the use of this method by calculating the tunneling density of states of metallic grains and the magnetic response of mesoscopic rings.
Categories: cond-mat.str-el cond-mat.mes-hall