The effects of the number of channels on persistent currents in mesoscopic metallic rings induced by static magnetic fields are investigated by means of a Hamiltonian that incorporates diagonal disorder and first- and second-nearest neighbor interactions on finite clusters of the simple-cubic lattice (LxMxN) with a single atomic orbital per lattice site. In the fully ordered case with first-nearest neighbor interactions and as a consequence of quantum interference, the typical current shows oscillations as a function of the number of channels (N-ch=MxN). In two dimensions (N= 1) and half filling these oscillations lead to a current that does not increase with N-ch but for special sizes, for which quantum interference is almost suppressed. Away from half filling and in three dimensions, whereas the current also oscillates with N-ch, it increases (on average) approximately as N-ch(upsilon), with upsilon less than or similar to 1/2. Instead, the Drude peak increases linearly with N-ch both in two and three dimensions and for any filling. The Hamiltonian dependence of these results is clearly illustrated by showing that if only second nearest-neighbor interactions are included, the current in two dimensions and half filling is proportional to N-ch. Away fom half filling and in three dimensions, although the typical current also oscillates with N-ch, it increases faster than with only first nearest-neighbors interactions. We investigate band-structure effects by considering a chain with s-d hybridization. The results show that although completely filled bands give a finite persistent current, their contribution decreases exponentially with the length of the ring. Results for weakly disordered two-dimensional rings with a single atomic orbital per lattice site and nearest-neighbors interaction, are not very different from those obtained in the clean case. In particular, the typical current also oscillates with N-ch. These oscillations cast doubts on conclusions attained on the basis of calculations for only a few channels. [References: 21]
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