Geometrical universality in vibrational dynamics

A good generalization of the Euclidean dimension to disordered systems and noncrystalline structures is commonly required to be related to large scale geometry and it is expected to be independent of local geometrical modifications. The spectral dimension, defined according to the low frequency density of vibrational states, appears to be the best candidate as far as dynamical and thermodynamical properties are concerned. In this letter we give the rigorous analytical proof of its independence of finite scale geometry. We show that the spectral dimension is invariant under local rescaling of couplings and under addition of finite range couplings, or infinite range couplings decaying faster then a characteristic power law. We also prove that it is left unchanged by coarse graining transformations, which are the generalization to graphs and networks of the usual decimation on regular structures. A quite important consequence of all these properties is the possibility of dealing with simplified geometrical models with nearest-neighbors interactions to study the critical behavior of systems with geometrical disorder.