Effects of weak random disorder in the one-dimensional Hubbard model

We introduce the notion of an impurity susceptibility as a measure of the effect of disorder on the properties of interacting many-particle systems. If finite, the impurity susceptibility gives the lowest-order correction to a given physical observable in the presence of disorder. If divergent, it signals that arbitrarily weak disorder leads to a qualitatively different physical behavior. Using a quantum Monte Carlo technique, impurity susceptibilities for various properties of the one-dimensional Hubbard model are calculated. Two types of disorder are considered; random hopping matrix elements and random potentials. For the local magnetic moment and the kinetic energy the impurity susceptibilities are finite. The impurity susceptibility of the q=2k_F spin response is divergent for both types of disorder, indicating a quenching of the T→0 divergence of this quantity. The susceptibility of the q=0 spin response to random hopping diverges at half filling, as a consequence of a divergent magnetic susceptibility in the presence of this type of disorder. We also find large, possibly divergent, impurity susceptibilities for the q=2k_F and 4k_F charge-density responses.