Regardless of model and platform details, the critical phenomena exhibit universal behaviors that are remarkably consistent across various experiments and theories, resulting in a significant scientific success of condensed matter physics. One widely known and commonly used example is the 2D quantum Hall transition; yet, its universal exponents still somewhat conflict between experiments, theoretical models, and numerical ansatzes. We study critical behaviors of quasi-2D Weyl semimetal systems with a finite thickness $L_z>1$, disorder, and external magnetic field $B_z$. By analyzing the scaling behaviors of the localization lengths and local density of states using recursive methods, we find that the finite thickness yields a deviation from the 2D quantum Hall universality ($L_z=1$ case) and a crossover toward the 3D Gaussian Unitary Ensemble ($L_z\rightarrow \infty$ limit), potentially offering another cause of the discrepancy. Our work demonstrates the often-overlooked importance of auxiliary degrees of freedom, such as thickness, and that 3D quantum Hall physics is not merely a trivial finite-thickness extension of its 2D counterpart.
Categories: cond-mat.mes-hall cond-mat.dis-nn