Nonequilibrium orbital magnetization of strongly localized electrons

The magnetic response of strongly localized electrons to a time-dependent vector potential is considered. The orbital magnetic moment of the system, away from steady-state conditions, is obtained. The expression involves the tunneling and phonon-assisted hopping currents between localized states. The frequency and temperature dependence of the orbital magnetization is analyzed as function of the admittances connecting localized levels. It is shown that quantum interference of the localized wave functions contributes to the moment a term which follows adiabatically the time-dependent perturbation. © 1996 The American Physical Society.