Unusual Mott transition in multiferroic PbCrO 3

DOE PAGES

Wang, Shanmin; Zhu, Jinlong; Zhang, Yi; ...

2015-11-24

The Mott insulator in correlated electron systems arises from classical Coulomb repulsion between carriers to provide a powerful force for electron localization. When turning such an insulator into a metal, the so-called Mott transition, is commonly achieved by "bandwidth" control or "band filling." However, both mechanisms deviate from the original concept of Mott, which attributes such a transition to the screening of Coulomb potential and associated lattice contraction. We report a pressure-induced isostructural Mott transition in cubic perovskite PbCrO3. At the transition pressure of similar to 3 GPa, PbCrO3 exhibits significant collapse in both lattice volume and Coulomb potential. Concurrentmore » with the collapse, it transforms from a hybrid multiferroic insulator to a metal. For the first time to our knowledge, these findings validate the scenario conceived by Mott. Close to the Mott criticality at similar to 300 K, fluctuations of the lattice and charge give rise to elastic anomalies and Laudau critical behaviors resembling the classic liquid-gas transition. Moreover, the anomalously large lattice volume and Coulomb potential in the low-pressure insulating phase are largely associated with the ferroelectric distortion, which is substantially suppressed at high pressures, leading to the first-order phase transition without symmetry breaking.« less

Unusual Mott transition in multiferroic PbCrO3

PubMed Central

Wang, Shanmin; Zhu, Jinlong; Zhang, Yi; Yu, Xiaohui; Zhang, Jianzhong; Wang, Wendan; Bai, Ligang; Qian, Jiang; Yin, Liang; Sullivan, Neil S.; Jin, Changqing; He, Duanwei; Xu, Jian; Zhao, Yusheng

2015-01-01

The Mott insulator in correlated electron systems arises from classical Coulomb repulsion between carriers to provide a powerful force for electron localization. Turning such an insulator into a metal, the so-called Mott transition, is commonly achieved by “bandwidth” control or “band filling.” However, both mechanisms deviate from the original concept of Mott, which attributes such a transition to the screening of Coulomb potential and associated lattice contraction. Here, we report a pressure-induced isostructural Mott transition in cubic perovskite PbCrO3. At the transition pressure of ∼3 GPa, PbCrO3 exhibits significant collapse in both lattice volume and Coulomb potential. Concurrent with the collapse, it transforms from a hybrid multiferroic insulator to a metal. For the first time to our knowledge, these findings validate the scenario conceived by Mott. Close to the Mott criticality at ∼300 K, fluctuations of the lattice and charge give rise to elastic anomalies and Laudau critical behaviors resembling the classic liquid–gas transition. The anomalously large lattice volume and Coulomb potential in the low-pressure insulating phase are largely associated with the ferroelectric distortion, which is substantially suppressed at high pressures, leading to the first-order phase transition without symmetry breaking. PMID:26604314

Universality and critical behavior of the dynamical Mott transition in a system with long-range interactions

DOE PAGES

Rademaker, Louk; Vinokur, Valerii M.; Galda, Alexey

2017-03-16

Here, we study numerically the voltage-induced breakdown of a Mott insulating phase in a system of charged classical particles with long-range interactions. At half-filling on a square lattice this system exhibits Mott localization in the form of a checkerboard pattern. We find universal scaling behavior of the current at the dynamic Mott insulator-metal transition and calculate scaling exponents corresponding to the transition. Our results are in agreement, up to a difference in universality class, with recent experimental evidence of a dynamic Mott transition in a system of interacting superconducting vortices.

Universality and critical behavior of the dynamical Mott transition in a system with long-range interactions.

PubMed

Rademaker, Louk; Vinokur, Valerii M; Galda, Alexey

2017-03-16

We study numerically the voltage-induced breakdown of a Mott insulating phase in a system of charged classical particles with long-range interactions. At half-filling on a square lattice this system exhibits Mott localization in the form of a checkerboard pattern. We find universal scaling behavior of the current at the dynamic Mott insulator-metal transition and calculate scaling exponents corresponding to the transition. Our results are in agreement, up to a difference in universality class, with recent experimental evidence of a dynamic Mott transition in a system of interacting superconducting vortices.

Metal-insulator transition in CaVO3 thin films: Interplay between epitaxial strain, dimensional confinement, and surface effects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beck, Sophie; Sclauzero, Gabriele; Chopra, Uday; Ederer, Claude

2018-02-01

We use density functional theory plus dynamical mean-field theory (DFT+DMFT) to study multiple control parameters for tuning the metal-insulator transition (MIT) in CaVO3 thin films. We focus on separating the effects resulting from substrate-induced epitaxial strain from those related to the reduced thickness of the film. We show that tensile epitaxial strain of around 3%-4% is sufficient to induce a transition to a paramagnetic Mott-insulating phase. This corresponds to the level of strain that could be achieved on a SrTiO3 substrate. Using free-standing slab models, we then demonstrate that reduced film thickness can also cause a MIT in CaVO3, however, only for thicknesses of less than 4 perovskite units. Our calculations indicate that the MIT in such ultrathin films results mainly from a surface-induced crystal-field splitting between the t2 g orbitals, favoring the formation of an orbitally polarized Mott insulator. This surface-induced crystal-field splitting is of the same type as the one resulting from tensile epitaxial strain, and thus the two effects can also cooperate. Furthermore, our calculations confirm an enhancement of correlation effects at the film surface, resulting in a reduced quasiparticle spectral weight in the outermost layer, whereas bulklike properties are recovered within only a few layers away from the surface.

Spin-Orbital Excitations in Ca2 RuO4 Revealed by Resonant Inelastic X-Ray Scattering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Das, L.; Forte, F.; Fittipaldi, R.; Fatuzzo, C. G.; Granata, V.; Ivashko, O.; Horio, M.; Schindler, F.; Dantz, M.; Tseng, Yi; McNally, D. E.; Rønnow, H. M.; Wan, W.; Christensen, N. B.; Pelliciari, J.; Olalde-Velasco, P.; Kikugawa, N.; Neupert, T.; Vecchione, A.; Schmitt, T.; Cuoco, M.; Chang, J.

2018-01-01

The strongly correlated insulator Ca2 RuO4 is considered as a paradigmatic realization of both spin-orbital physics and a band-Mott insulating phase, characterized by orbitally selective coexistence of a band and a Mott gap. We present a high resolution oxygen K -edge resonant inelastic x-ray scattering study of the antiferromagnetic Mott insulating state of Ca2 RuO4 . A set of low-energy (about 80 and 400 meV) and high-energy (about 1.3 and 2.2 eV) excitations are reported, which show strong incident light polarization dependence. Our results strongly support a spin-orbit coupled band-Mott scenario and explore in detail the nature of its exotic excitations. Guided by theoretical modeling, we interpret the low-energy excitations as a result of composite spin-orbital excitations. Their nature unveils the intricate interplay of crystal-field splitting and spin-orbit coupling in the band-Mott scenario. The high-energy excitations correspond to intra-atomic singlet-triplet transitions at an energy scale set by Hund's coupling. Our findings give a unifying picture of the spin and orbital excitations in the band-Mott insulator Ca2 RuO4 .

Hallmarks of the Mott-metal crossover in the hole-doped pseudospin-1/2 Mott insulator Sr 2IrO 4

DOE PAGES

Cao, Yue; Wang, Qiang; Waugh, Justin A.; ...

2016-04-22

The physics of doped Mott insulators remains controversial after decades of active research, hindered by the interplay among competing orders and fluctuations. It is thus highly desired to distinguish the intrinsic characters of the Mott-metal crossover from those of other origins. Here we investigate the evolution of electronic structure and dynamics of the hole-doped pseudospin-1/2 Mott insulator Sr 2 IrO 4 . The effective hole doping is achieved by replacing Ir with Rh atoms, with the chemical potential immediately jumping to or near the top of the lower Hubbard band. The doped iridates exhibit multiple iconic low-energy features previously observedmore » in doped cuprates - pseudogaps, Fermi arcs and marginal-Fermi-liquid-like electronic scattering rates. We suggest these signatures are most likely an integral part of the material's proximity to the Mott state, rather than from many of the most claimed mechanisms, including preformed electron pairing, quantum criticality or density-wave formation.« less

Hallmarks of Hunds coupling in the Mott insulator Ca2RuO4

PubMed Central

Sutter, D.; Fatuzzo, C. G.; Moser, S.; Kim, M.; Fittipaldi, R.; Vecchione, A.; Granata, V.; Sassa, Y.; Cossalter, F.; Gatti, G.; Grioni, M.; Rønnow, H. M.; Plumb, N. C.; Matt, C. E.; Shi, M.; Hoesch, M.; Kim, T. K.; Chang, T-R; Jeng, H-T; Jozwiak, C.; Bostwick, A.; Rotenberg, E.; Georges, A.; Neupert, T.; Chang, J.

2017-01-01

A paradigmatic case of multi-band Mott physics including spin-orbit and Hund's coupling is realized in Ca2RuO4. Progress in understanding the nature of this Mott insulating phase has been impeded by the lack of knowledge about the low-energy electronic structure. Here we provide—using angle-resolved photoemission electron spectroscopy—the band structure of the paramagnetic insulating phase of Ca2RuO4 and show how it features several distinct energy scales. Comparison to a simple analysis of atomic multiplets provides a quantitative estimate of the Hund's coupling J=0.4 eV. Furthermore, the experimental spectra are in good agreement with electronic structure calculations performed with Dynamical Mean-Field Theory. The crystal field stabilization of the dxy orbital due to c-axis contraction is shown to be essential to explain the insulating phase. These results underscore the importance of multi-band physics, Coulomb interaction and Hund's coupling that together generate the Mott insulating state of Ca2RuO4. PMID:28474681

Mott-Hubbard transition and Anderson localization: A generalized dynamical mean-field theory approach

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kuchinskii, E. Z.; Nekrasov, I. A.; Sadovskii, M. V.

The DOS, the dynamic (optical) conductivity, and the phase diagram of a strongly correlated and strongly disordered paramagnetic Anderson-Hubbard model are analyzed within the generalized dynamical mean field theory (DMFT + {sigma} approximation). Strong correlations are taken into account by the DMFT, and disorder is taken into account via an appropriate generalization of the self-consistent theory of localization. The DMFT effective single-impurity problem is solved by a numerical renormalization group (NRG); we consider the three-dimensional system with a semielliptic DOS. The correlated metal, Mott insulator, and correlated Anderson insulator phases are identified via the evolution of the DOS and dynamicmore » conductivity, demonstrating both the Mott-Hubbard and Anderson metal-insulator transition and allowing the construction of the complete zero-temperature phase diagram of the Anderson-Hubbard model. Rather unusual is the possibility of a disorder-induced Mott insulator-to-metal transition.« less

Superconductivity and bandwidth-controlled Mott metal-insulator transition in 1T-TaS2-xSex

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ang, R.; Miyata, Y.; Ieki, E.; Nakayama, K.; Sato, T.; Liu, Y.; Lu, W. J.; Sun, Y. P.; Takahashi, T.

2013-09-01

We have performed high-resolution angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) of layered chalcogenide 1T-TaS2-xSex to elucidate the electronic states especially relevant to the occurrence of superconductivity. We found a direct evidence for a Ta-5d-derived electron pocket associated with the superconductivity, which is fragile against a Mott-gap opening observed in the insulating ground state for S-rich samples. In particular, a strong electron-electron interaction-induced Mott gap driven by a Ta 5d orbital also exists in the metallic ground state for Se-rich samples, while finite ARPES intensity near the Fermi level likely originating from a Se 4p orbital survives, indicative of the orbital-selective nature of the Mott transition. Present results suggest that effective electron correlation and p-d hybridization play a crucial role to tune the superconductivity and Mott metal-insulator transition.

Disappearance of nodal gap across the insulator-superconductor transition in a copper-oxide superconductor.

PubMed

Peng, Yingying; Meng, Jianqiao; Mou, Daixiang; He, Junfeng; Zhao, Lin; Wu, Yue; Liu, Guodong; Dong, Xiaoli; He, Shaolong; Zhang, Jun; Wang, Xiaoyang; Peng, Qinjun; Wang, Zhimin; Zhang, Shenjin; Yang, Feng; Chen, Chuangtian; Xu, Zuyan; Lee, T K; Zhou, X J

2013-01-01

The parent compound of the copper-oxide high-temperature superconductors is a Mott insulator. Superconductivity is realized by doping an appropriate amount of charge carriers. How a Mott insulator transforms into a superconductor is crucial in understanding the unusual physical properties of high-temperature superconductors and the superconductivity mechanism. Here we report high-resolution angle-resolved photoemission measurement on heavily underdoped Bi₂Sr₂-xLaxCuO(₆+δ) system. The electronic structure of the lightly doped samples exhibit a number of characteristics: existence of an energy gap along the nodal direction, d-wave-like anisotropic energy gap along the underlying Fermi surface, and coexistence of a coherence peak and a broad hump in the photoemission spectra. Our results reveal a clear insulator-superconductor transition at a critical doping level of ~0.10 where the nodal energy gap approaches zero, the three-dimensional antiferromagnetic order disappears, and superconductivity starts to emerge. These observations clearly signal a close connection between the nodal gap, antiferromagnetism and superconductivity.

Observation of a Pseudogap in the Vicinity of the Metal-Insulator Transition in the Perovskite-type Vanadium Oxides Nd1-xSrxVO3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yamamoto, Shintaro; Ootsuki, Daiki; Shimonaka, Daiya; Shibata, Daisuke; Kodera, Kenjiro; Okawa, Mario; Saitoh, Tomohiko; Horio, Masafumi; Fujimori, Atsushi; Kumigashira, Hiroshi; Ono, Kanta; Ikenaga, Eiji; Miyasaka, Shigeki; Tajima, Setsuko; Yoshida, Teppei

2018-02-01

We have performed a photoemission study of the Mott-Hubbard system Nd1-xSrxVO3 (x = 0.20 and 0.30) to investigate the electronic structure in the vicinity of the metal-insulator transition. By using bulk sensitive hard X-ray photoemission spectroscopy, we have observed a large coherent spectral weight near the Fermi level compared to those observed with surface-sensitive low photons. In particular, a pseudogap with an energy of ˜0.2 eV has been observed near the Fermi level, which is consistent with a prediction with a dynamical cluster approximation calculation. In order to understand the characteristic features in the Mott-Hubbard-type metal-insulator transition, particularly the pseudogap opening at x = 0.2 and 0.3, a phenomenological model of the self-energy has been proposed.

Identification of Mott insulators and Anderson insulators in self-assembled gold nanoparticles thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, Cheng-Wei; Ni, I.-Chih; Tzeng, Shien-Der; Wu, Cen-Shawn; Kuo, Watson

2014-05-01

How the interparticle tunnelling affects the charge conduction of self-assembled gold nanoparticles is studied by three means: tuning the tunnel barrier width by different molecule modification and by substrate bending, and tuning the barrier height by high-dose electron beam exposure. All approaches indicate that the metal-Mott insulator transition is governed predominantly by the interparticle coupling strength, which can be quantified by the room temperature sheet resistance. The Hubbard gap, following the prediction of quantum fluctuation theory, reduces to zero rapidly as the sheet resistance decreases to the quantum resistance. At very low temperature, the fate of devices near the Mott transition depends on the strength of disorder. The charge conduction is from nearest-neighbour hopping to co-tunnelling between nanoparticles in Mott insulators whereas it is from variable-range hopping through charge puddles in Anderson insulators. When the two-dimensional nanoparticle network is under a unidirectional strain, the interparticle coupling becomes anisotropic so the average sheet resistance is required to describe the charge conduction.How the interparticle tunnelling affects the charge conduction of self-assembled gold nanoparticles is studied by three means: tuning the tunnel barrier width by different molecule modification and by substrate bending, and tuning the barrier height by high-dose electron beam exposure. All approaches indicate that the metal-Mott insulator transition is governed predominantly by the interparticle coupling strength, which can be quantified by the room temperature sheet resistance. The Hubbard gap, following the prediction of quantum fluctuation theory, reduces to zero rapidly as the sheet resistance decreases to the quantum resistance. At very low temperature, the fate of devices near the Mott transition depends on the strength of disorder. The charge conduction is from nearest-neighbour hopping to co-tunnelling between nanoparticles in Mott insulators whereas it is from variable-range hopping through charge puddles in Anderson insulators. When the two-dimensional nanoparticle network is under a unidirectional strain, the interparticle coupling becomes anisotropic so the average sheet resistance is required to describe the charge conduction. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c3nr06627d

Quantum phase transitions and local magnetism in Mott insulators: A local probe investigation using muons, neutrons, and photons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Frandsen, Benjamin A.

Mott insulators are materials in which strong correlations among the electrons induce an unconventional insulating state. Rich interplay between the structural, magnetic, and electronic degrees of freedom resulting from the electron correlation can lead to unusual complexity of Mott materials on the atomic scale, such as microscopically heterogeneous phases or local structural correlations that deviate significantly from the average structure. Such behavior must be studied by suitable experimental techniques, i.e. "local probes", that are sensitive to this local behavior rather than just the bulk, average properties. In this thesis, I will present results from our studies of multiple families of Mott insulators using two such local probes: muon spin relaxation (muSR), a probe of local magnetism; and pair distribution function (PDF) analysis of x-ray and neutron total scattering, a probe of local atomic structure. In addition, I will present the development of magnetic pair distribution function analysis, a novel method for studying local magnetic correlations that is highly complementary to the muSR and atomic PDF techniques. We used muSR to study the phase transition from Mott insulator to metal in two archetypal Mott insulating systems: RENiO3 (RE = rare earth element) and V2O3. In both of these systems, the Mott insulating state can be suppressed by tuning a nonthermal parameter, resulting in a "quantum" phase transition at zero temperature from the Mott insulating state to a metallic state. In RENiO3, this occurs through variation of the rare-earth element in the chemical composition; in V 2O3, through the application of hydrostatic pressure. Our results show that the metallic and Mott insulating states unexpectedly coexist in phase-separated regions across a large portion of parameter space near the Mott quantum phase transition and that the magnitude of the ordered antiferromagnetic moment remains constant across the phase diagram until it is abruptly destroyed at the quantum phase transition. Taken together, these findings point unambiguously to a first-order quantum phase transition in these systems. We also conducted x-ray and neutron PDF experiments, which suggest that the distinct atomic structures associated with the insulating and metallic phases similarly coexist near the quantum phase transition. These results have significant implications for our understanding of the Mott metal-insulator quantum phase transition in real materials. The second part of this thesis centers on the derivation and development of the magnetic pair distribution function (mPDF) technique and its application to the antiferromagnetic Mott insulator MnO. The atomic PDF method involves Fourier transforming the x-ray or neutron total scattering intensity from reciprocal space into real space to directly reveal the local atomic correlations in a material, which may deviate significantly from the average crystallographic structure of that material. Likewise, the mPDF method involves Fourier transforming the magnetic neutron total scattering intensity to probe the local correlations of magnetic moments in the material, which may exist on short length scales even when the material has no long-range magnetic order. After deriving the fundamental mPDF equations and providing a proof-of-principle by recovering the known magnetic structure of antiferromagnetic MnO, we used this technique to investigate the short-range magnetic correlations that persist well into the paramagnetic phase of MnO. By combining the mPDF measurements with ab initio calculations of the spin-spin correlation function in paramagnetic MnO, we were able to quantitatively account for the observed mPDF. We also used the mPDF data to evaluate competing ab initio theories, thereby resolving some longstanding questions about the magnetic exchange interactions in MnO.

Fabrication and Measurement of Electroluminescence and Electrical Properties of Organic Light-Emitting Diodes Containing Mott Insulator Nanocrystals.

PubMed

Nozoe, Soichiro; Kinoshita, Nobuaki; Matsuda, Masaki

2016-04-01

By using the short-time electrocrystallization technique, phthalocyanine (Pc)-based Mott insulator Co(Pc)(CN)2 . 2CHCl3 nanocrystals were fabricated and applied to organic light-emiting diodes (OLEDs). The fabricated device having the configuration ITO/Co(Pc)(CN)2 . 2CHCl3/Alq3/Al, in which ITO is indium-tin oxide and Alq3 is tris(8-hydroxyquinolinato)aluminum, showed clear emission from Alq3, suggesting the Mott insulator Co(Pc)(CN)2 . 2CHCl3 can work as useful hole-injection and transport material in OLEDs.

An Angle Resolved Photoemission Study of a Mott Insulator and Its Evolution to a High Temperature Superconductor

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ronning, Filip

2002-03-19

One of the most remarkable facts about the high temperature superconductors is their close proximity to an antiferromagnetically ordered Mott insulating phase. This fact suggests that to understand superconductivity in the cuprates we must first understand the insulating regime. Due to material properties the technique of angle resolved photoemission is ideally suited to study the electronic structure in the cuprates. Thus, a natural starting place to unlocking the secrets of high Tc would appears to be with a photoemission investigation of insulating cuprates. This dissertation presents the results of precisely such a study. In particular, we have focused on themore » compound Ca{sub 2-x}Na{sub x}CuO{sub 2}Cl{sub 2}. With increasing Na content this system goes from an antiferromagnetic Mott insulator with a Neel transition of 256K to a superconductor with an optimal transition temperature of 28K. At half filling we have found an asymmetry in the integrated spectral weight, which can be related to the occupation probability, n(k). This has led us to identify a d-wave-like dispersion in the insulator, which in turn implies that the high energy pseudogap as seen by photoemission is a remnant property of the insulator. These results are robust features of the insulator which we found in many different compounds and experimental conditions. By adding Na we were able to study the evolution of the electronic structure across the insulator to metal transition. We found that the chemical potential shifts as holes are doped into the system. This picture is in sharp contrast to the case of La{sub 2-x}Sr{sub x}CuO{sub 4} where the chemical potential remains fixed and states are created inside the gap. Furthermore, the low energy excitations (ie the Fermi surface) in metallic Ca{sub 1.9}Na{sub 0.1}CuO{sub 2}Cl{sub 2} is most well described as a Fermi arc, although the high binding energy features reveal the presence of shadow bands. Thus, the results in this dissertation provide a new avenue for understanding the evolution of the Mott insulator to high temperature superconductor.« less

On effective holographic Mott insulators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baggioli, Matteo; Pujolàs, Oriol

2016-12-01

We present a class of holographic models that behave effectively as prototypes of Mott insulators — materials where electron-electron interactions dominate transport phenomena. The main ingredient in the gravity dual is that the gauge-field dynamics contains self-interactions by way of a particular type of non-linear electrodynamics. The electrical response in these models exhibits typical features of Mott-like states: i) the low-temperature DC conductivity is unboundedly low; ii) metal-insulator transitions appear by varying various parameters; iii) for large enough self-interaction strength, the conductivity can even decrease with increasing doping (density of carriers) — which appears as a sharp manifestation of `traffic-jam'-like behaviour; iv) the insulating state becomes very unstable towards superconductivity at large enough doping. We exhibit some of the properties of the resulting insulator-superconductor transition, which is sensitive to the momentum dissipation rate in a specific way. These models imply a clear and generic correlation between Mott behaviour and significant effects in the nonlinear electrical response. We compute the nonlinear current-voltage curve in our model and find that indeed at large voltage the conductivity is largely reduced.

Upper critical field reaches 90 tesla near the Mott transition in fulleride superconductors

DOE PAGES

Kasahara, Y.; Takeuchi, Y.; Zadik, R. H.; ...

2017-02-17

Controlled access to the border of the Mott insulating state by variation of control parameters offers exotic electronic states such as anomalous and possibly high-transition-temperature (T c) superconductivity. The alkali-doped fullerides show a transition from a Mott insulator to a superconductor for the first time in three-dimensional materials, but the impact of dimensionality and electron correlation on superconducting properties has remained unclear. Here we show that, near the Mott insulating phase, the upper critical field H c2 of the fulleride superconductors reaches values as high as ~90 T—the highest among cubic crystals. This is accompanied by a crossover from weak-more » to strong-coupling superconductivity and appears upon entering the metallic state with the dynamical Jahn–Teller effect as the Mott transition is approached. Lastly, these results suggest that the cooperative interplay between molecular electronic structure and strong electron correlations plays a key role in realizing robust superconductivity with high-T c and high-H c2.« less

Upper critical field reaches 90 tesla near the Mott transition in fulleride superconductors

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kasahara, Y.; Takeuchi, Y.; Zadik, R. H.

Controlled access to the border of the Mott insulating state by variation of control parameters offers exotic electronic states such as anomalous and possibly high-transition-temperature (T c) superconductivity. The alkali-doped fullerides show a transition from a Mott insulator to a superconductor for the first time in three-dimensional materials, but the impact of dimensionality and electron correlation on superconducting properties has remained unclear. Here we show that, near the Mott insulating phase, the upper critical field H c2 of the fulleride superconductors reaches values as high as ~90 T—the highest among cubic crystals. This is accompanied by a crossover from weak-more » to strong-coupling superconductivity and appears upon entering the metallic state with the dynamical Jahn–Teller effect as the Mott transition is approached. Lastly, these results suggest that the cooperative interplay between molecular electronic structure and strong electron correlations plays a key role in realizing robust superconductivity with high-T c and high-H c2.« less

Volume-wise destruction of the antiferromagnetic Mott insulating state through quantum tuning.

PubMed

Frandsen, Benjamin A; Liu, Lian; Cheung, Sky C; Guguchia, Zurab; Khasanov, Rustem; Morenzoni, Elvezio; Munsie, Timothy J S; Hallas, Alannah M; Wilson, Murray N; Cai, Yipeng; Luke, Graeme M; Chen, Bijuan; Li, Wenmin; Jin, Changqing; Ding, Cui; Guo, Shengli; Ning, Fanlong; Ito, Takashi U; Higemoto, Wataru; Billinge, Simon J L; Sakamoto, Shoya; Fujimori, Atsushi; Murakami, Taito; Kageyama, Hiroshi; Alonso, Jose Antonio; Kotliar, Gabriel; Imada, Masatoshi; Uemura, Yasutomo J

2016-08-17

RENiO3 (RE=rare-earth element) and V2O3 are archetypal Mott insulator systems. When tuned by chemical substitution (RENiO3) or pressure (V2O3), they exhibit a quantum phase transition (QPT) between an antiferromagnetic Mott insulating state and a paramagnetic metallic state. Because novel physics often appears near a Mott QPT, the details of this transition, such as whether it is first or second order, are important. Here, we demonstrate through muon spin relaxation/rotation (μSR) experiments that the QPT in RENiO3 and V2O3 is first order: the magnetically ordered volume fraction decreases to zero at the QPT, resulting in a broad region of intrinsic phase separation, while the ordered magnetic moment retains its full value until it is suddenly destroyed at the QPT. These findings bring to light a surprising universality of the pressure-driven Mott transition, revealing the importance of phase separation and calling for further investigation into the nature of quantum fluctuations underlying the transition.

Volume-wise destruction of the antiferromagnetic Mott insulating state through quantum tuning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Frandsen, Benjamin A.; Liu, Lian; Cheung, Sky C.; Guguchia, Zurab; Khasanov, Rustem; Morenzoni, Elvezio; Munsie, Timothy J. S.; Hallas, Alannah M.; Wilson, Murray N.; Cai, Yipeng; Luke, Graeme M.; Chen, Bijuan; Li, Wenmin; Jin, Changqing; Ding, Cui; Guo, Shengli; Ning, Fanlong; Ito, Takashi U.; Higemoto, Wataru; Billinge, Simon J. L.; Sakamoto, Shoya; Fujimori, Atsushi; Murakami, Taito; Kageyama, Hiroshi; Alonso, Jose Antonio; Kotliar, Gabriel; Imada, Masatoshi; Uemura, Yasutomo J.

2016-08-01

RENiO3 (RE=rare-earth element) and V2O3 are archetypal Mott insulator systems. When tuned by chemical substitution (RENiO3) or pressure (V2O3), they exhibit a quantum phase transition (QPT) between an antiferromagnetic Mott insulating state and a paramagnetic metallic state. Because novel physics often appears near a Mott QPT, the details of this transition, such as whether it is first or second order, are important. Here, we demonstrate through muon spin relaxation/rotation (μSR) experiments that the QPT in RENiO3 and V2O3 is first order: the magnetically ordered volume fraction decreases to zero at the QPT, resulting in a broad region of intrinsic phase separation, while the ordered magnetic moment retains its full value until it is suddenly destroyed at the QPT. These findings bring to light a surprising universality of the pressure-driven Mott transition, revealing the importance of phase separation and calling for further investigation into the nature of quantum fluctuations underlying the transition.

Influence of magnetism and correlation on the spectral properties of doped Mott insulators

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wang, Yao; Moritz, Brian; Chen, Cheng-Chien

Unraveling the nature of the doping-induced transition between a Mott insulator and a weakly correlated metal is crucial to understanding novel emergent phases in strongly correlated materials. Here, for this purpose, we study the evolution of spectral properties upon doping Mott insulating states by utilizing the cluster perturbation theory on the Hubbard and t – J -like models. Specifically, a quasifree dispersion crossing the Fermi level develops with small doping, and it eventually evolves into the most dominant feature at high doping levels. Although this dispersion is related to the free-electron hopping, our study shows that this spectral feature is,more » in fact, influenced inherently by both electron-electron correlation and spin-exchange interaction: the correlation destroys coherence, while the coupling between spin and mobile charge restores it in the photoemission spectrum. Due to the persistent impact of correlations and spin physics, the onset of gaps or the high-energy anomaly in the spectral functions can be expected in doped Mott insulators.« less

Influence of magnetism and correlation on the spectral properties of doped Mott insulators

DOE PAGES

Wang, Yao; Moritz, Brian; Chen, Cheng-Chien; ...

2018-03-01

Unraveling the nature of the doping-induced transition between a Mott insulator and a weakly correlated metal is crucial to understanding novel emergent phases in strongly correlated materials. Here, for this purpose, we study the evolution of spectral properties upon doping Mott insulating states by utilizing the cluster perturbation theory on the Hubbard and t – J -like models. Specifically, a quasifree dispersion crossing the Fermi level develops with small doping, and it eventually evolves into the most dominant feature at high doping levels. Although this dispersion is related to the free-electron hopping, our study shows that this spectral feature is,more » in fact, influenced inherently by both electron-electron correlation and spin-exchange interaction: the correlation destroys coherence, while the coupling between spin and mobile charge restores it in the photoemission spectrum. Due to the persistent impact of correlations and spin physics, the onset of gaps or the high-energy anomaly in the spectral functions can be expected in doped Mott insulators.« less

Localization to delocalization crossover in a driven nonlinear cavity array

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brown, Oliver T.; Hartmann, Michael J.

2018-05-01

We study nonlinear cavity arrays where the particle relaxation rate in each cavity increases with the excitation number. We show that coherent parametric inputs can drive such arrays into states with commensurate filling that form non-equilibrium analogs of Mott insulating states. We explore the boundaries of the Mott insulating phase and the crossover to a delocalized phase with spontaneous first order coherence. While sharing many similarities with the Mott insulator to superfluid transition in equilibrium, the phase diagrams we find also show marked differences. Particularly the off diagonal order does not become long range since the influence of dephasing processes increases with increasing tunneling rates.

Nanoscale orbital excitations and the infrared spectrum of a molecular Mott insulator: A15-Cs3C60.

PubMed

Naghavi, S S; Fabrizio, M; Qin, T; Tosatti, E

2016-10-14

The quantum physics of ions and electrons behind low-energy spectra of strongly correlated molecular conductors, superconductors and Mott insulators is poorly known, yet fascinating especially in orbitally degenerate cases. The fulleride insulator Cs 3 C 60 (A15), one such system, exhibits infrared (IR) spectra with low temperature peak features and splittings suggestive of static Jahn-Teller distortions with a breakdown of orbital symmetry in the molecular site. That is puzzling, since there is no detectable static distortion, and because the features and splittings disappear upon modest heating, which they should not. Taking advantage of the Mott-induced collapse of electronic wavefunctions from lattice-extended to nanoscale localized inside a caged molecular site, we show that the unbroken spin and orbital symmetry of the ion multiplets explains the IR spectrum without adjustable parameters. This demonstrates the importance of a fully quantum treatment of nuclear positions and orbital momenta in the Mott insulator sites, dynamically but not statically distorted. The observed demise of these features with temperature is explained by the thermal population of a multiplet term whose nuclear positions are essentially undistorted, but whose energy is very low-lying. That term is in fact a scaled-down orbital excitation analogous to that of other Mott insulators, with the same spin 1/2 as the ground state, but with a larger orbital momentum of two instead of one.

Aspects of metallic low-temperature transport in Mott-insulator/band-insulator superlattices: Optical conductivity and thermoelectricity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rüegg, Andreas; Pilgram, Sebastian; Sigrist, Manfred

2008-06-01

We investigate the low-temperature electrical and thermal transport properties in atomically precise metallic heterostructures involving strongly correlated electron systems. The model of the Mott-insulator/band-insulator superlattice was discussed in the framework of the slave-boson mean-field approximation and transport quantities were derived by use of the Boltzmann transport equation in the relaxation-time approximation. The results for the optical conductivity are in good agreement with recently published experimental data on (LaTiO3)N/(SrTiO3)M superlattices and allow us to estimate the values of key parameters of the model. Furthermore, predictions for the thermoelectric response were made and the dependence of the Seebeck coefficient on model parameters was studied in detail. The width of the Mott-insulating material was identified as the most relevant parameter, in particular, this parameter provides a way to optimize the thermoelectric power factor at low temperatures.

Mott insulator-to-metal transition in yttrium-doped CaIrO₃.

PubMed

Gunasekera, J; Chen, Y; Kremenak, J W; Miceli, P F; Singh, D K

2015-02-11

We report on the study of insulator-to-metal transition in post-perovskite compound CaIrO3. It is discovered that a gradual chemical substitution of calcium by yttrium leads to the onset of strong metallic behavior in this compound. This observation is in stark contrast to BaIrO3, which preserves its Mott insulating behavior despite excess of the charge carriers due to yttrium doping. Magnetic measurements reveal that both compounds tend to exhibit magnetic character irrespective of the chemical substitution of Ca or Ba. We analyze these unusual observations in light of recent researches that suggest that CaIrO3 does not necessarily possess j = 1/2 ground state due to structural distortion. The insulator-to-metal transition in CaIrO3 will spur new researches to explore more exotic ground state, including superconductivity, in post-perovskite Mott insulators.

Spin-Orbit Coupled Bose-Einstein Condensates

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-11-03

generalized the new concepts to interacting spin-1/2 bosons in optical lattices and described a superfluid-to-Mott insulator transition in spin-orbit...and quantum phase transitions in topological insulators , Physical Review B, (09 2010): 0. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevB.82.115125 Christopher Varney, Kai...109.235308 J. Radi?, A. Di Ciolo, K. Sun, V. Galitski. Exotic Quantum Spin Models in Spin-Orbit-Coupled Mott Insulators , Physical Review Letters

Fermi surface in the absence of a Fermi liquid in the Kondo insulator SmB6

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hartstein, M.; Toews, W. H.; Hsu, Y.-T.; Zeng, B.; Chen, X.; Hatnean, M. Ciomaga; Zhang, Q. R.; Nakamura, S.; Padgett, A. S.; Rodway-Gant, G.; Berk, J.; Kingston, M. K.; Zhang, G. H.; Chan, M. K.; Yamashita, S.; Sakakibara, T.; Takano, Y.; Park, J.-H.; Balicas, L.; Harrison, N.; Shitsevalova, N.; Balakrishnan, G.; Lonzarich, G. G.; Hill, R. W.; Sutherland, M.; Sebastian, Suchitra E.

2018-02-01

The search for a Fermi surface in the absence of a conventional Fermi liquid has thus far yielded very few potential candidates. Among promising materials are spin-frustrated Mott insulators near the insulator-metal transition, where theory predicts a Fermi surface associated with neutral low-energy excitations. Here we reveal another route to experimentally realize a Fermi surface in the absence of a Fermi liquid by the experimental study of a Kondo insulator SmB6 positioned close to the insulator-metal transition. We present experimental signatures down to low temperatures (<<1 K) associated with a Fermi surface in the bulk, including a sizeable linear specific heat coefficient, and on the application of a finite magnetic field, bulk magnetic quantum oscillations, finite quantum oscillatory entropy, and substantial enhancement in thermal conductivity well below the charge gap energy scale. Thus, the weight of evidence indicates that despite an extreme instance of Fermi liquid breakdown in Kondo insulating SmB6, a Fermi surface arises from novel itinerant low-energy excitations that couple to magnetic fields, but not weak DC electric fields.

Volume-wise destruction of the antiferromagnetic Mott insulating state through quantum tuning

DOE PAGES

B. A. Frandsen; Liu, L.; Cheung, S. C.; ...

2016-08-17

RENiO 3 (RE=rare-earth element) and V 2O 3 are archetypal Mott insulator systems. When tuned by chemical substitution (RENiO 3) or pressure (V 2O 3), they exhibit a quantum phase transition (QPT) between an antiferromagnetic Mott insulating state and a paramagnetic metallic state. Because novel physics often appears near a Mott QPT, the details of this transition, such as whether it is first or second order, are important. Here, we demonstrate through muon spin relaxation/rotation (μSR) experiments that the QPT in RENiO 3 and V 2O 3 is first order: the magnetically ordered volume fraction decreases to zero at themore » QPT, resulting in a broad region of intrinsic phase separation, while the ordered magnetic moment retains its full value until it is suddenly destroyed at the QPT. These findings bring to light a surprising universality of the pressure-driven Mott transition, revealing the importance of phase separation and calling for further investigation into the nature of quantum fluctuations underlying the transition.« less

Volume-wise destruction of the antiferromagnetic Mott insulating state through quantum tuning

PubMed Central

Frandsen, Benjamin A.; Liu, Lian; Cheung, Sky C.; Guguchia, Zurab; Khasanov, Rustem; Morenzoni, Elvezio; Munsie, Timothy J. S.; Hallas, Alannah M.; Wilson, Murray N.; Cai, Yipeng; Luke, Graeme M.; Chen, Bijuan; Li, Wenmin; Jin, Changqing; Ding, Cui; Guo, Shengli; Ning, Fanlong; Ito, Takashi U.; Higemoto, Wataru; Billinge, Simon J. L.; Sakamoto, Shoya; Fujimori, Atsushi; Murakami, Taito; Kageyama, Hiroshi; Alonso, Jose Antonio; Kotliar, Gabriel; Imada, Masatoshi; Uemura, Yasutomo J.

2016-01-01

RENiO3 (RE=rare-earth element) and V2O3 are archetypal Mott insulator systems. When tuned by chemical substitution (RENiO3) or pressure (V2O3), they exhibit a quantum phase transition (QPT) between an antiferromagnetic Mott insulating state and a paramagnetic metallic state. Because novel physics often appears near a Mott QPT, the details of this transition, such as whether it is first or second order, are important. Here, we demonstrate through muon spin relaxation/rotation (μSR) experiments that the QPT in RENiO3 and V2O3 is first order: the magnetically ordered volume fraction decreases to zero at the QPT, resulting in a broad region of intrinsic phase separation, while the ordered magnetic moment retains its full value until it is suddenly destroyed at the QPT. These findings bring to light a surprising universality of the pressure-driven Mott transition, revealing the importance of phase separation and calling for further investigation into the nature of quantum fluctuations underlying the transition. PMID:27531192

High-density Two-Dimensional Small Polaron Gas in a Delta-Doped Mott Insulator

PubMed Central

Ouellette, Daniel G.; Moetakef, Pouya; Cain, Tyler A.; Zhang, Jack Y.; Stemmer, Susanne; Emin, David; Allen, S. James

2013-01-01

Heterointerfaces in complex oxide systems open new arenas in which to test models of strongly correlated material, explore the role of dimensionality in metal-insulator-transitions (MITs) and small polaron formation. Close to the quantum critical point Mott MITs depend on band filling controlled by random disordered substitutional doping. Delta-doped Mott insulators are potentially free of random disorder and introduce a new arena in which to explore the effect of electron correlations and dimensionality. Epitaxial films of the prototypical Mott insulator GdTiO3 are delta-doped by substituting a single (GdO)+1 plane with a monolayer of charge neutral SrO to produce a two-dimensional system with high planar doping density. Unlike metallic SrTiO3 quantum wells in GdTiO3 the single SrO delta-doped layer exhibits thermally activated DC and optical conductivity that agree in a quantitative manner with predictions of small polaron transport but with an extremely high two-dimensional density of polarons, ~7 × 1014 cm−2. PMID:24257578

Nonequilibrium electronic transport in a one-dimensional Mott insulator

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Heidrich-Meisner, F.; Gonzalez, Ivan; Al-Hassanieh, K. A.

2010-01-01

We calculate the nonequilibrium electronic transport properties of a one-dimensional interacting chain at half filling, coupled to noninteracting leads. The interacting chain is initially in a Mott insulator state that is driven out of equilibrium by applying a strong bias voltage between the leads. For bias voltages above a certain threshold we observe the breakdown of the Mott insulator state and the establishment of a steady-state elec- tronic current through the system. Based on extensive time-dependent density-matrix renormalization-group simulations, we show that this steady-state current always has the same functional dependence on voltage, independent of the microscopic details of themore » model and we relate the value of the threshold to the Lieb-Wu gap. We frame our results in terms of the Landau-Zener dielectric breakdown picture. Finally, we also discuss the real-time evolution of the current, and characterize the current-carrying state resulting from the breakdown of the Mott insulator by computing the double occupancy, the spin structure factor, and the entanglement entropy.« less

Correlation-driven charge order at the interface between a Mott and a band insulator.

PubMed

Pentcheva, Rossitza; Pickett, Warren E

2007-07-06

To study digital Mott insulator LaTiO3 and band insulator SrTiO3 interfaces, we apply correlated band theory within the local density approximation including a Hubbard U to (n, m) multilayers, 1

Response of the Lattice across the Filling-Controlled Mott Metal-Insulator Transition of a Rare Earth Titanate

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kim, Honggyu; Marshall, Patrick B.; Ahadi, Kaveh

The lattice response of a prototype Mott insulator, SmTiO 3, to hole doping is investigated with atomic-scale spatial resolution. SmTiO 3 films are doped with Sr on the Sm site with concentrations that span the insulating and metallic sides of the filling-controlled Mott metal-insulator transition (MIT). The GdFeO 3-type distortions are investigated using an atomic resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy technique that can resolve small lattice distortions with picometer precision. We show that these distortions are gradually and uniformly reduced as the Sr concentration is increased without any phase separation. Significant distortions persist into the metallic state. In conclusion, themore » results present a new picture of the physics of this prototype filling-controlled MIT, which is discussed.« less

Response of the Lattice across the Filling-Controlled Mott Metal-Insulator Transition of a Rare Earth Titanate

DOE PAGES

Kim, Honggyu; Marshall, Patrick B.; Ahadi, Kaveh; ...

2017-11-02

The lattice response of a prototype Mott insulator, SmTiO 3, to hole doping is investigated with atomic-scale spatial resolution. SmTiO 3 films are doped with Sr on the Sm site with concentrations that span the insulating and metallic sides of the filling-controlled Mott metal-insulator transition (MIT). The GdFeO 3-type distortions are investigated using an atomic resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy technique that can resolve small lattice distortions with picometer precision. We show that these distortions are gradually and uniformly reduced as the Sr concentration is increased without any phase separation. Significant distortions persist into the metallic state. In conclusion, themore » results present a new picture of the physics of this prototype filling-controlled MIT, which is discussed.« less

Non-local order in Mott insulators, duality and Wilson loops

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rath, Steffen Patrick, E-mail: steffen.rath@ph.tum.de; Simeth, Wolfgang; Endres, Manuel

2013-07-15

It is shown that the Mott insulating and superfluid phases of bosons in an optical lattice may be distinguished by a non-local ‘parity order parameter’ which is directly accessible via single site resolution imaging. In one dimension, the lattice Bose model is dual to a classical interface roughening problem. We use known exact results from the latter to prove that the parity order parameter exhibits long range order in the Mott insulating phase, consistent with recent experiments by Endres et al. [M. Endres, M. Cheneau, T. Fukuhara, C. Weitenberg, P. Schauß, C. Gross, L. Mazza, M.C. Bañuls, L. Pollet, I.more » Bloch, et al., Science 334 (2011) 200]. In two spatial dimensions, the parity order parameter can be expressed in terms of an equal time Wilson loop of a non-trivial U(1) gauge theory in 2+1 dimensions which exhibits a transition between a Coulomb and a confining phase. The negative logarithm of the parity order parameter obeys a perimeter law in the Mott insulator and is enhanced by a logarithmic factor in the superfluid. -- Highlights: •Number statistics of cold atoms in optical lattices show non-local correlations. •These correlations are measurable via single site resolution imaging. •Incompressible phases exhibit an area law in particle number fluctuations. •This leads to long-range parity order of Mott-insulators in one dimension. •Parity order in 2d is connected with a Wilson-loop in a lattice gauge theory.« less

Fermi-surface reconstruction and the origin of high-temperature superconductivity.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Norman, M. R.; Materials Science Division

2010-01-01

In crystalline lattices, the conduction electrons form waves, known as Bloch states, characterized by a momentum vector k. The defining characteristic of metals is the surface in momentum space that separates occupied from unoccupied states. This 'Fermi' surface may seem like an abstract concept, but it can be measured and its shape can have profound consequences for the thermal, electronic, and magnetic properties of a material. In the presence of an external magnetic field B, electrons in a metal spiral around the field direction, and within a semiclassical momentum-space picture, orbit around the Fermi surface. Physical properties, such as themore » magnetization, involve a sum over these orbits, with extremal orbits on the Fermi surface, i.e., orbits with minimal or maximal area, dominating the sum [Fig. 1(a)]. Upon quantization, the resulting electron energy spectrum consists of Landau levels separated by the cyclotron energy, which is proportional to the magnetic field. As the magnetic field causes subsequent Landau levels to cross through the Fermi energy, physical quantities, such as the magnetization or resistivity, oscillate in response. It turns out that the period of these oscillations, when plotted as a function of 1/B, is proportional to the area of the extremal orbit in a plane perpendicular to the applied field [Fig. 1(b)]. The power of the quantum oscillation technique is obvious: By changing the field direction, one can map out the Fermi surface, much like a blind man feeling an elephant. The nature and topology of the Fermi surface in high-T{sub c} cuprates has been debated for many years. Soon after the materials were discovered by Bednorz and Mueller, it was realized that superconductivity was obtained by doping carriers into a parent insulating state. This insulating state appears to be due to strong electronic correlations, and is known as a Mott insulator. In the case of cuprates, the electronic interactions force the electrons on the copper ion lattice into a d{sup 9} configuration, with one localized hole in the 3d shell per copper site. Given the localized nature of this state, it was questioned whether a momentum-space picture was an appropriate description of the physics of the cuprates. In fact, this question relates to a long-standing debate in the physics community: Since the parent state is also an antiferromagnet, one can, in principle, map the Mott insulator to a band insulator with magnetic order. In this 'Slater' picture, Mott physics is less relevant than the magnetism itself. It is therefore unclear which of the two, magnetism or Mott physics, is more fundamentally tied to superconductivity in the cuprates. After twenty years of effort, definitive quantum oscillations that could be used to map the Fermi surface were finally observed in a high-temperature cuprate superconductor in 2007. This and subsequent studies reveal a profound rearrangement of the Fermi surface in underdoped cuprates. The cause of the reconstruction, and its implication for the origin of high-temperature superconductivity, is a subject of active debate.« less

Nanotextured phase coexistence in the correlated insulator V2O3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McLeod, Alexander

The Mott insulator-metal transition remains among the most studied phenomena in correlated electron physics. However, the formation of spontaneous spatial patterns amidst coexisting insulating and metallic phases remains poorly explored on the meso- and nanoscales. Here we present real-space evolution of the insulator-metal transition in a thin film of V2O3, the ``canonical'' Mott insulator, imaged at high spatial resolution by cryogenic near-field infrared microscopy. We resolve spontaneously nanotextured coexistence of metal and correlated Mott insulator phases near the insulator-metal transition (T = 160-180 K) associated with percolation and an underlying structural phase transition. Augmented with macroscopic temperature-resolved X-ray diffraction measurements of the same film, a quantitative analysis of nano-infrared images acquired across the transition suggests decoupling of electronic and structural transformations. Persistent low-temperature metallicity is accompanied by unconventional dimensional scaling among metallic ``puddles,'' implicating relevance of a long-range Coulombic interaction through the film's first-order insulator-metal transition. The speaker and co-authors acknowledge support from DOE-DE-SC0012375, DOE-DE-SC0012592, and AFOSR Grant No. FA9550-12-1-0381. The speaker also acknowledges support from a US Dept. of Energy Office of Science Graduate Fellowship (DOE SCGF).

Breakdown of Strong Coupling Expansions for doped Mott Insulators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Phillips, Philip; Galanakis, Dimitrios; Stanescu, Tudor

2005-03-01

We show that doped Mott insulators, such as the copper-oxide superconductors, are asymptotically slaved in that the quasiparticle weight, Z, near half-filling depends critically on the existence of the high energy scale set by the upper Hubbard band. In particular, near half filling, the following dichotomy arises: Z0 when the high energy scale is integrated out but Z=0 in the thermodynamic limit when it is retained. Slavery to the high energy scale arises from quantum interference between electronic excitations across the Mott gap.

Parity-time symmetry-breaking mechanism of dynamic Mott transitions in dissipative systems

DOE PAGES

Tripathi, Vikram; Galda, Alexey; Barman, Himadri; ...

2016-07-05

Here, we describe the critical behavior of the electric field-driven (dynamic) Mott insulator-to-metal transitions in dissipative Fermi and Bose systems in terms of non-Hermitian Hamiltonians invariant under simultaneous parity (P) and time-reversal (T) operations. The dynamic Mott transition is identified as a PT symmetry-breaking phase transition, with the Mott insulating state corresponding to the regime of unbroken PT symmetry with a real energy spectrum. We also established that the imaginary part of the Hamiltonian arises from the combined effects of the driving field and inherent dissipation. We derive the renormalization and collapse of the Mott gap at the dielectric breakdownmore » and describe the resulting critical behavior of transport characteristics. The critical exponent we obtained is in an excellent agreement with experimental findings.« less

Strongly enhanced thermal transport in a lightly doped Mott insulator at low temperature.

PubMed

Zlatić, V; Freericks, J K

2012-12-28

We show how a lightly doped Mott insulator has hugely enhanced electronic thermal transport at low temperature. It displays universal behavior independent of the interaction strength when the carriers can be treated as nondegenerate fermions and a nonuniversal "crossover" region where the Lorenz number grows to large values, while still maintaining a large thermoelectric figure of merit. The electron dynamics are described by the Falicov-Kimball model which is solved for arbitrary large on-site correlation with a dynamical mean-field theory algorithm on a Bethe lattice. We show how these results are generic for lightly doped Mott insulators as long as the renormalized Fermi liquid scale is pushed to very low temperature and the system is not magnetically ordered.

Tailoring Materials for Mottronics: Excess Oxygen Doping of a Prototypical Mott Insulator.

PubMed

Scheiderer, Philipp; Schmitt, Matthias; Gabel, Judith; Zapf, Michael; Stübinger, Martin; Schütz, Philipp; Dudy, Lenart; Schlueter, Christoph; Lee, Tien-Lin; Sing, Michael; Claessen, Ralph

2018-05-07

The Mott transistor is a paradigm for a new class of electronic devices-often referred to by the term Mottronics-which are based on charge correlations between the electrons. Since correlation-induced insulating phases of most oxide compounds are usually very robust, new methods have to be developed to push such materials right to the boundary to the metallic phase in order to enable the metal-insulator transition to be switched by electric gating. Here, it is demonstrated that thin films of the prototypical Mott insulator LaTiO 3 grown by pulsed laser deposition under oxygen atmosphere are readily tuned by excess oxygen doping across the line of the band-filling controlled Mott transition in the electronic phase diagram. The detected insulator to metal transition is characterized by a strong change in resistivity of several orders of magnitude. The use of suitable substrates and capping layers to inhibit oxygen diffusion facilitates full control of the oxygen content and renders the films stable against exposure to ambient conditions. These achievements represent a significant advancement in control and tuning of the electronic properties of LaTiO 3+ x thin films making it a promising channel material in future Mottronic devices. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Dimensional crossover and cold-atom realization of topological Mott insulators

PubMed Central

Scheurer, Mathias S.; Rachel, Stephan; Orth, Peter P.

2015-01-01

Interacting cold-atomic gases in optical lattices offer an experimental approach to outstanding problems of many body physics. One important example is the interplay of interaction and topology which promises to generate a variety of exotic phases such as the fractionalized Chern insulator or the topological Mott insulator. Both theoretically understanding these states of matter and finding suitable systems that host them have proven to be challenging problems. Here we propose a cold-atom setup where Hubbard on-site interactions give rise to spin liquid-like phases: weak and strong topological Mott insulators. They represent the celebrated paradigm of an interacting and topological quantum state with fractionalized spinon excitations that inherit the topology of the non-interacting system. Our proposal shall help to pave the way for a controlled experimental investigation of this exotic state of matter in optical lattices. Furthermore, it allows for the investigation of a dimensional crossover from a two-dimensional quantum spin Hall insulating phase to a three-dimensional strong topological insulator by tuning the hopping between the layers. PMID:25669431

Disorder effect on the Friedel oscillations in a one-dimensional Mott insulator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weiss, Y.; Goldstein, M.; Berkovits, R.

2007-07-01

The Friedel oscillations resulting from coupling a quantum dot to one edge of a disordered one-dimensional wire in the Mott insulator regime are calculated numerically using the density matrix renormalization group method. By investigating the influence of a constant weak disorder on the Friedel oscillations decay we find that the effect of disorder is reduced by increasing the interaction strength. This behavior is opposite to the recently reported influence of disorder in the Anderson insulator regime.

Quench of paramagnetic orbital selective Mott phase and appearance of antiferromagnetic orbital selective slater phase in multiorbital correlated systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Quan, Ya-Min; Liu, Da-Yong; Lin, Hai-Qing; Zou, Liang-Jian

2018-06-01

We present the modulation of magnetic order on the orbital selective Mott phases (OSMP) and the metal-insulator transitions (MIT) of multi-orbital Hubbard models by employing the rotationally invariant slave-boson methods. We show that at half filling, the well-known paramagnetic (PM) OSMP is completely covered by an antiferromagnetic (AFM) Slater insulator, and the PM Mott phase by an AFM Mott insulator when electron correlation strength varies from intermediate to strong both in two- and three-orbitals Hubbard systems. Away from half-filling, we find that a partial-polarized AFM orbital-selective Slater phase appears in the intermediate correlation regime, and an almost full-polarized AFM OSMP fully covers the paramagnetic OSMP. In addition, the ferromagnetic phase in the three-orbital case is more robust than that in the two-orbital case. These results demonstrate that the modulation of magnetic correlation to the quasiparticle spectra leads to much rich and more interesting MIT scenario in multiorbital correlated systems.

Site-resolved imaging of a bosonic Mott insulator using ytterbium atoms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miranda, Martin; Inoue, Ryotaro; Tambo, Naoki; Kozuma, Mikio

2017-10-01

We demonstrate site-resolved imaging of a strongly correlated quantum system without relying on laser cooling techniques during fluorescence imaging. We observe the formation of Mott shells in the insulating regime and realize thermometry in an atomic cloud. This work proves the feasibility of the noncooled approach and opens the door to extending the detection technology to new atomic species.

Electric double-layer transistor using layered iron selenide Mott insulator TlFe1.6Se2

PubMed Central

Katase, Takayoshi; Hiramatsu, Hidenori; Kamiya, Toshio; Hosono, Hideo

2014-01-01

A1–xFe2–ySe2 (A = K, Cs, Rb, Tl) are recently discovered iron-based superconductors with critical temperatures (Tc) ranging up to 32 K. Their parent phases have unique properties compared with other iron-based superconductors; e.g., their crystal structures include ordered Fe vacancies, their normal states are antiferromagnetic (AFM) insulating phases, and they have extremely high Néel transition temperatures. However, control of carrier doping into the parent AFM insulators has been difficult due to their intrinsic phase separation. Here, we fabricated an Fe-vacancy-ordered TlFe1.6Se2 insulating epitaxial film with an atomically flat surface and examined its electrostatic carrier doping using an electric double-layer transistor (EDLT) structure with an ionic liquid gate. The positive gate voltage gave a conductance modulation of three orders of magnitude at 25 K, and further induced and manipulated a phase transition; i.e., delocalized carrier generation by electrostatic doping is the origin of the phase transition. This is the first demonstration, to the authors' knowledge, of an EDLT using a Mott insulator iron selenide channel and opens a way to explore high Tc superconductivity in iron-based layered materials, where carrier doping by conventional chemical means is difficult. PMID:24591598

Ultrafast hopping dynamics of 5f electrons in the Mott insulator UO₂ studied by femtosecond pump-probe spectroscopy.

PubMed

An, Yong Q; Taylor, Antoinette J; Conradson, Steven D; Trugman, Stuart A; Durakiewicz, Tomasz; Rodriguez, George

2011-05-20

We describe a femtosecond pump-probe study of ultrafast hopping dynamics of 5f electrons in the Mott insulator UO₂ following Mott-gap excitation at temperatures of 5-300 K. Hopping-induced response of the lattice and electrons is probed by transient reflectivity at mid- and above-gap photon energies, respectively. These measurements show an instantaneous hop, subsequent picosecond lattice deformation, followed by acoustic phonon emission and microsecond relaxation. Temperature-dependent studies indicate that the slow relaxation results from Hubbard excitons formed by U³⁺-U⁵⁺ pairs.

First-order melting of a weak spin-orbit mott insulator into a correlated metal

DOE PAGES

Hogan, Tom; Yamani, Z.; Walkup, D.; ...

2015-06-25

Herein, the electronic phase diagram of the weak spin-orbit Mott insulator (Sr 1-xLa x) 3Ir 2O 7 is determined via an exhaustive experimental study. Upon doping electrons via La substitution, an immediate collapse in resistivity occurs along with a narrow regime of nanoscale phase separation comprised of antiferromagnetic, insulating regions and paramagnetic, metallic puddles persisting until x≈0.04. Continued electron doping results in an abrupt, first-order phase boundary where the Néel state is suppressed and a homogenous, correlated, metallic state appears with an enhanced spin susceptibility and local moments. In conclusion, as the metallic state is stabilized, a weak structural distortionmore » develops and suggests a competing instability with the parent spin-orbit Mott state.« less

Mott metal-insulator transition in the doped Hubbard-Holstein model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kurdestany, Jamshid Moradi; Satpathy, S.

2017-08-01

Motivated by the current interest in the understanding of the Mott insulators away from half-filling, observed in many perovskite oxides, we study the Mott metal-insulator transition in the doped Hubbard-Holstein model using the Hartree-Fock mean field theory. The Hubbard-Holstein model is the simplest model containing both the Coulomb and the electron-lattice interactions, which are important ingredients in the physics of the perovskite oxides. In contrast to the half-filled Hubbard model, which always results in a single phase (either metallic or insulating), our results show that away from half-filling, a mixed phase of metallic and insulating regions occurs. As the dopant concentration is increased, the metallic part progressively grows in volume, until it exceeds the percolation threshold, leading to percolative conduction. This happens above a critical dopant concentration δc, which, depending on the strength of the electron-lattice interaction, can be a significant fraction of unity. This means that the material could be insulating even for a substantial amount of doping, in contrast to the expectation that doped holes would destroy the insulating behavior of the half-filled Hubbard model. While effects of fluctuation beyond the mean field remain an open question, our results provide a starting point for the understanding of the density-driven metal-insulator transition observed in many complex oxides.

Formation of an incoherent metallic state in Rh-doped Sr2IrO4

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Louat, A.; Bert, F.; Serrier-Garcia, L.; Bertran, F.; Le Fèvre, P.; Rault, J.; Brouet, V.

2018-04-01

Sr2IrO4 is the archetype of the spin-orbit Mott insulator, but the nature of the metallic states that may emerge from this type of insulator is still not very well known. We study with angle-resolved photoemission the insulator-to-metal transition observed in Sr2Ir1 -xRhxO4 when Ir is substituted by Rh (0.02 0.07 , is not a Fermi liquid. It is characterized by the absence of quasiparticles, unrenormalized band dispersion compared to calculations, and an ˜30 -meV pseudogap on the entire Fermi surface.

Raman scattering in the Mott insulators LaTiO3 and YTiO3: evidence for orbital excitations.

PubMed

Ulrich, C; Gössling, A; Grüninger, M; Guennou, M; Roth, H; Cwik, M; Lorenz, T; Khaliullin, G; Keimer, B

2006-10-13

Raman scattering is used to observe pronounced electronic excitations around 230 meV--well above the two-phonon range--in the Mott insulators LaTiO3 and YTiO3. Based on the temperature, polarization, and photon energy dependence, the modes are identified as orbital excitations. The observed profiles bear a striking resemblance to magnetic Raman modes in the insulating parent compounds of the superconducting cuprates, indicating an unanticipated universality of the electronic excitations in transition metal oxides.

Metal-Insulator Transitions in Epitaxial LaVO(3) and LaTiO(3) Films

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-08-01

epitaxial films of LaVO3 and LaTiO3 can exhibit metallicity though their bulk counterparts are Mott insulators. When LaTiO3 films are compressively...secondarily to interface electronic reconstruction at the LaTiO3 /SrTiO3 interface. However, when LaVO3 films are compressively strained on SrTiO3...ABSTRACT We have demonstrated that epitaxial films of LaVO3 and LaTiO3 can exhibit metallicity though their bulk counterparts are Mott insulators. When

Change of carrier density at the pseudogap critical point of a cuprate superconductor.

PubMed

Badoux, S; Tabis, W; Laliberté, F; Grissonnanche, G; Vignolle, B; Vignolles, D; Béard, J; Bonn, D A; Hardy, W N; Liang, R; Doiron-Leyraud, N; Taillefer, Louis; Proust, Cyril

2016-03-10

The pseudogap is a partial gap in the electronic density of states that opens in the normal (non-superconducting) state of cuprate superconductors and whose origin is a long-standing puzzle. Its connection to the Mott insulator phase at low doping (hole concentration, p) remains ambiguous and its relation to the charge order that reconstructs the Fermi surface at intermediate doping is still unclear. Here we use measurements of the Hall coefficient in magnetic fields up to 88 tesla to show that Fermi-surface reconstruction by charge order in the cuprate YBa2Cu3Oy ends sharply at a critical doping p = 0.16 that is distinctly lower than the pseudogap critical point p* = 0.19 (ref. 11). This shows that the pseudogap and charge order are separate phenomena. We find that the change in carrier density n from n = 1 + p in the conventional metal at high doping (ref. 12) to n = p at low doping (ref. 13) starts at the pseudogap critical point. This shows that the pseudogap and the antiferromagnetic Mott insulator are linked.

Peierls instability as the insulating origin of the Na/Si(111)-(3 × 1) surface with a Na coverage of 2/3 monolayers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kang, Myung Ho; Kwon, Se Gab; Jung, Sung Chul

2018-03-01

Density functional theory (DFT) calculations are used to investigate the insulating origin of the Na/Si(111)-(3 × 1) surface with a Na coverage of 2/3 monolayers. In the coverage definition, one monolayer refers to one Na atom per surface Si atom, so this surface contains an odd number of electrons (i.e., three Si dangling-bond electrons plus two Na electrons) per 3 × 1 unit cell. Interestingly, this odd-electron surface has been ascribed to a Mott-Hubbard insulator to account for the measured insulating band structure with a gap of about 0.8 eV. Here, we instead propose a Peierls instability as the origin of the experimental band gap. The concept of Peierls instability is fundamental in one-dimensional metal systems but has not been taken into account in previous studies of this surface. Our DFT calculations demonstrate that the linear chain structure of Si dangling bonds in this surface is energetically unstable with respect to a × 2 buckling modulation, and the buckling-induced band gap of 0.79 eV explains well the measured insulating nature.

First-principles many-body investigation of δ-doped titanates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lechermann, Frank; Obermeyer, Michael

2015-03-01

Studying oxide heterostructures provides the possibility for exploring novel composite materials beyond nature's original conception. In this respect, the doping of Mott-insulating distorted-perovskite titanates such as LaTiO3 and GdTiO3 with a single SrO layer gives rise to a very rich correlated electronic structure. A realistic superlattice survey by means of the charge self-consistent combination of density functional theory (DFT) with dynamical mean-field theory (DMFT) reveals layer- and temperature-dependent multi-orbital metal-insulator transitions. In [001] stacking, an orbital-selective metallic layer at the interface dissolves via an orbital-polarized doped-Mott state into an orbital-ordered insulating regime beyond the two conducting TiO2 layers. We find large differences in the scattering behavior within the latter. Breaking the spin symmetry in δ-doped GdTiO3 results in blocks of ferromagnetic itinerant and ferromagnetic Mott-insulating layers which are coupled antiferromagnetically. Support from the DFG-FOR1346 is acknowledged.

Spin-Orbital Excitation Continuum and Anomalous Electron-Phonon Interaction in the Mott Insulator LaTiO3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ulrich, C.; Khaliullin, G.; Guennou, M.; Roth, H.; Lorenz, T.; Keimer, B.

2015-10-01

Raman scattering experiments on stoichiometric, Mott-insulating LaTiO3 over a wide range of excitation energies reveal a broad electronic continuum which is featureless in the paramagnetic state, but develops a gap of ˜800 cm-1 upon cooling below the Néel temperature TN=146 K . In the antiferromagnetic state, the spectral weight below the gap is transferred to well-defined spectral features due to spin and orbital excitations. Low-energy phonons exhibit pronounced Fano anomalies indicative of strong interaction with the electron system for T >TN , but become sharp and symmetric for T

Metallic Interface at the Boundary Between Band and Mott Insulators

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kancharla, Srivenkateswara S; Dagotto, Elbio R

2006-01-01

Motivated by experiments on atomically smooth layers of LaTiO3, a Mott insulator, sandwiched between layers of SrTiO3, a band insulator, a simple model for such heterostructures is studied using quasi one-dimensional lattices and the Lanczos method. Taking both the local and long-range Coulomb interactions into account, and computing the layer dependent local density of states, a metallic state was found at the interface whose extent strongly depends on the dielectric constant of the material. We also observed that the antiferromagnetic correlations in the bulk Mott phase persist into the metallic region. Our conclusions are in excellent agreement with recently reportedmore » results for this model in the opposite limit of infinite dimensions6,7, thus providing an alternative tool to study electronic reconstruction effects in heterostructures.« less

Quantum phase transition modulation in an atomtronic Mott switch

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McLain, Marie A.; Carr, Lincoln D.

2018-07-01

Mott insulators provide stable quantum states and long coherence times due to small number fluctuations, making them good candidates for quantum memory and atomic circuits. We propose a proof-of-principle for a 1D Mott switch using an ultracold Bose gas and optical lattice. With time-evolving block decimation simulations—efficient matrix product state methods—we design a means for transient parameter characterization via a local excitation for ease of engineering into more complex atomtronics. We perform the switch operation by tuning the intensity of the optical lattice, and thus the interaction strength through a conductance transition due to the confined modifications of the ‘wedding cake’ Mott structure. We demonstrate the time-dependence of Fock state transmission and fidelity of the excitation as a means of tuning up the device in a double well and as a measure of noise performance. Two-point correlations via the g (2) measure provide additional information regarding superfluid fragments on the Mott insulating background due to the confinement of the potential.

Ladder physics in the spin fermion model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tsvelik, A. M.

2017-05-01

A link is established between the spin fermion (SF) model of the cuprates and the approach based on the analogy between the physics of doped Mott insulators in two dimensions and the physics of fermionic ladders. This enables one to use nonperturbative results derived for fermionic ladders to move beyond the large-N approximation in the SF model. It is shown that the paramagnon exchange postulated in the SF model has exactly the right form to facilitate the emergence of the fully gapped d -Mott state in the region of the Brillouin zone at the hot spots of the Fermi surface. Hence, the SF model provides an adequate description of the pseudogap.

Photoinduced Hund excitons in the breakdown of a two-orbital Mott insulator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rincón, Julián; Dagotto, Elbio; Feiguin, Adrian E.

2018-06-01

We study the photoinduced breakdown of a two-orbital Mott insulator and resulting metallic state. Using time-dependent density matrix renormalization group, we scrutinize the real-time dynamics of the half-filled two-orbital Hubbard model interacting with a resonant radiation field pulse. The breakdown, caused by production of doublon-holon pairs, is enhanced by Hund's exchange, which dynamically activates large orbital fluctuations. The melting of the Mott insulator is accompanied by a high to low spin transition with a concomitant reduction of antiferromagnetic spin fluctuations. Most notably, the overall time response is driven by the photogeneration of excitons with orbital character that are stabilized by Hund's coupling. These unconventional "Hund excitons" correspond to bound spin-singlet orbital-triplet doublon-holon pairs. We study exciton properties such as bandwidth, binding potential, and size within a semiclassical approach. The photometallic state results from a coexistence of Hund excitons and doublon-holon plasma.

Direct observation of the M2 phase with its Mott transition in a VO2 film

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Hoon; Slusar, Tetiana V.; Wulferding, Dirk; Yang, Ilkyu; Cho, Jin-Cheol; Lee, Minkyung; Choi, Hee Cheul; Jeong, Yoon Hee; Kim, Hyun-Tak; Kim, Jeehoon

2016-12-01

In VO2, the explicit origin of the insulator-to-metal transition is still disputable between Peierls and Mott insulators. Along with the controversy, its second monoclinic (M2) phase has received considerable attention due to the presence of electron correlation in undimerized vanadium ions. However, the origin of the M2 phase is still obscure. Here, we study a granular VO2 film using conductive atomic force microscopy and Raman scattering. Upon the structural transition from monoclinic to rutile, we observe directly an intermediate state showing the coexistence of monoclinic M1 and M2 phases. The conductivity near the grain boundary in this regime is six times larger than that of the grain core, producing a donut-like landscape. Our results reveal an intra-grain percolation process, indicating that VO2 with the M2 phase is a Mott insulator.

Electronic reconstruction of doped Mott insulator heterojunctions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Charlebois, M.; Hassan, S. R.; Karan, R.; Dion, M.; Senechal, D.; Tremblay, A.-M. S.

2012-02-01

Correlated electron heterostructures became a possible alternative when thin-film deposition techniques achieved structures with a sharp interface transition [1]. Soon thereafter, Okamoto & Millis introduced the concept of ``electronic reconstruction'' [2]. We study here the electronic reconstruction of doped Mott insulator heterostructures based on a Cluster Dynamical Mean Field Theory (CDMFT) calculations of the Hubbard model in the limit where electrostatic energy dominates over the kinetic energy associated with transport across layers. The grand potential of individual layers is first computed within CDMFT and then the electrostatic potential energy is taken into account in the Hartree approximation. The charge reconstruction in an ensemble of stacked planes of different nature can lead to a distribution of electron charge and to transport properties that are unique to doped-Mott insulators.[4pt] [1] J. Mannhart, D. G. Schlom, Science 327, 1607 (2010).[0pt] [2] S. Okamoto and A. J. Millis, Nature 428, 630 (2004).

Producing coherent excitations in pumped Mott antiferromagnetic insulators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Yao; Claassen, Martin; Moritz, B.; Devereaux, T. P.

2017-12-01

Nonequilibrium dynamics in correlated materials has attracted attention due to the possibility of characterizing, tuning, and creating complex ordered states. To understand the photoinduced microscopic dynamics, especially the linkage under realistic pump conditions between transient states and remnant elementary excitations, we performed nonperturbative simulations of various time-resolved spectroscopies. We used the Mott antiferromagnetic insulator as a model platform. The transient dynamics of multiparticle excitations can be attributed to the interplay between Floquet virtual states and a modification of the density of states, in which interactions induce a spectral weight transfer. Using an autocorrelation of the time-dependent spectral function, we show that resonance of the virtual states with the upper Hubbard band in the Mott insulator provides the route towards manipulating the electronic distribution and modifying charge and spin excitations. Our results link transient dynamics to the nature of many-body excitations and provide an opportunity to design nonequilibrium states of matter via tuned laser pulses.

Multiple crossovers and coherent states in a Mott-Peierls insulator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nájera, O.; Civelli, M.; Dobrosavljević, V.; Rozenberg, M. J.

2018-01-01

We consider the dimer Hubbard model within dynamical mean-field theory to study the interplay and competition between Mott and Peierls physics. We describe the various metal-insulator transition lines of the phase diagram and the breakdown of the different solutions that occur along them. We focus on the specific issue of the debated Mott-Peierls insulator crossover and describe the systematic evolution of the electronic structure across the phase diagram. We found that at low intradimer hopping, the emerging local magnetic moments can unbind above a characteristic singlet temperature T*. Upon increasing the interdimer hopping, subtle changes occur in the electronic structure. Notably, we find Hubbard bands of a mix character with coherent and incoherent excitations. We argue that this state might be relevant for materials such as VO2 and its signatures may be observed in spectroscopic studies, and possibly through pump-probe experiments.

Size and symmetry of the superconducting gap in the f.c.c. Cs3C60 polymorph close to the metal-Mott insulator boundary.

PubMed

Potočnik, Anton; Krajnc, Andraž; Jeglič, Peter; Takabayashi, Yasuhiro; Ganin, Alexey Y; Prassides, Kosmas; Rosseinsky, Matthew J; Arčon, Denis

2014-03-03

The alkali fullerides, A(3)C(60) (A = alkali metal) are molecular superconductors that undergo a transition to a magnetic Mott-insulating state at large lattice parameters. However, although the size and the symmetry of the superconducting gap, Δ, are both crucial for the understanding of the pairing mechanism, they are currently unknown for superconducting fullerides close to the correlation-driven magnetic insulator. Here we report a comprehensive nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) study of face-centred-cubic (f.c.c.) Cs(3)C(60) polymorph, which can be tuned continuously through the bandwidth-controlled Mott insulator-metal/superconductor transition by pressure. When superconductivity emerges from the insulating state at large interfullerene separations upon compression, we observe an isotropic (s-wave) Δ with a large gap-to-superconducting transition temperature ratio, 2Δ0/k(B)T(c) = 5.3(2) [Δ0 = Δ(0 K)]. 2Δ0/k(B)T(c) decreases continuously upon pressurization until it approaches a value of ~3.5, characteristic of weak-coupling BCS theory of superconductivity despite the dome-shaped dependence of Tc on interfullerene separation. The results indicate the importance of the electronic correlations for the pairing interaction as the metal/superconductor-insulator boundary is approached.

Size and symmetry of the superconducting gap in the f.c.c. Cs3C60 polymorph close to the metal-Mott insulator boundary

PubMed Central

Potočnik, Anton; Krajnc, Andraž; Jeglič, Peter; Takabayashi, Yasuhiro; Ganin, Alexey Y.; Prassides, Kosmas; Rosseinsky, Matthew J.; Arčon, Denis

2014-01-01

The alkali fullerides, A3C60 (A = alkali metal) are molecular superconductors that undergo a transition to a magnetic Mott-insulating state at large lattice parameters. However, although the size and the symmetry of the superconducting gap, Δ, are both crucial for the understanding of the pairing mechanism, they are currently unknown for superconducting fullerides close to the correlation-driven magnetic insulator. Here we report a comprehensive nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) study of face-centred-cubic (f.c.c.) Cs3C60 polymorph, which can be tuned continuously through the bandwidth-controlled Mott insulator-metal/superconductor transition by pressure. When superconductivity emerges from the insulating state at large interfullerene separations upon compression, we observe an isotropic (s-wave) Δ with a large gap-to-superconducting transition temperature ratio, 2Δ0/kBTc = 5.3(2) [Δ0 = Δ(0 K)]. 2Δ0/kBTc decreases continuously upon pressurization until it approaches a value of ~3.5, characteristic of weak-coupling BCS theory of superconductivity despite the dome-shaped dependence of Tc on interfullerene separation. The results indicate the importance of the electronic correlations for the pairing interaction as the metal/superconductor-insulator boundary is approached. PMID:24584087

Absence of Asymptotic Freedom in Doped Mott Insulators: Breakdown of Strong Coupling Expansions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Phillips, Philip; Galanakis, Dimitrios; Stanescu, Tudor D.

2004-12-01

We show that doped Mott insulators such as the copper-oxide superconductors are asymptotically slaved in that the quasiparticle weight Z near half-filling depends critically on the existence of the high-energy scale set by the upper Hubbard band. In particular, near half-filling, the following dichotomy arises: Z≠0 when the high-energy scale is integrated out but Z=0 in the thermodynamic limit when it is retained. Slavery to the high-energy scale arises from quantum interference between electronic excitations across the Mott gap. Broad spectral features seen in photoemission in the normal state of the cuprates are argued to arise from high-energy slavery.

Electronic Griffiths Phases and Quantum Criticality at Disordered Mott Transitions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dobrosavljevic, Vladimir

2012-02-01

The effects of disorder are investigated in strongly correlated electronic systems near the Mott metal-insulator transition. Correlation effects are foundootnotetextE. C. Andrade, E. Miranda, and V. Dobrosavljevic, Phys. Rev. Lett., 102, 206403 (2009). to lead to strong disorder screening, a mechanism restricted to low-lying electronic states, very similar to what is observed in underdoped cuprates. These results suggest, however, that this effect is not specific to disordered d-wave superconductors, but is a generic feature of all disordered Mott systems. In addition, the resulting spatial inhomogeneity rapidly increasesootnotetextE. C. Andrade, E. Miranda, and V. Dobrosavljevic, Phys. Rev. Lett., 104 (23), 236401 (2010). as the Mott insulator is approached at fixed disorder strength. This behavior, which can be described as an Electronic Griffiths Phase, displays all the features expected for disorder-dominated Infinite-Randomness Fixed Point scenario of quantum criticality.

Finite mass enhancement across bandwidth controlled Mott transition in NiS2-xSex

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Han, Garam; Kyung, W. S.; Kim, Y. K.; Cheng, C. M.; Tsuei, K. D.; Lee, K. D.; Hur, N.; Kim, H.-D.; Kim, C.

One of the most important and still debated issues in the strongly correlated electron systems is on the metal insulator transition (MIT) mechanism. In the bandwidth controlled Mott transition (BCMT) scenario, which Mott originally proposed, MIT occurs through a mass divergence in which the effective mass of the quasi-particle (QP) diverges approaching the MIT. The interpretation is supported by dynamic mean field theory (DMFT) model calculations. However, few direct observations have been made yet due to various experimental restrictions. In this talk, I present systematic angle resolved photoemission studies on the MIT in NiS2-xSex, which is a well-known BCMT material. We observed not only the bandwidth shrinkage but also the coherent quasi-particle peak (QP) which is not of the surface origin. In addition, we experimentally showed the mass of the QP remains finite approaching the MIT. This work was supported by IBS-R009-D1.

Charge dynamics of the antiferromagnetically ordered Mott insulator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Han, Xing-Jie; Liu, Yu; Liu, Zhi-Yuan; Li, Xin; Chen, Jing; Liao, Hai-Jun; Xie, Zhi-Yuan; Normand, B.; Xiang, Tao

2016-10-01

We introduce a slave-fermion formulation in which to study the charge dynamics of the half-filled Hubbard model on the square lattice. In this description, the charge degrees of freedom are represented by fermionic holons and doublons and the Mott-insulating characteristics of the ground state are the consequence of holon-doublon bound-state formation. The bosonic spin degrees of freedom are described by the antiferromagnetic Heisenberg model, yielding long-ranged (Néel) magnetic order at zero temperature. Within this framework and in the self-consistent Born approximation, we perform systematic calculations of the average double occupancy, the electronic density of states, the spectral function and the optical conductivity. Qualitatively, our method reproduces the lower and upper Hubbard bands, the spectral-weight transfer into a coherent quasiparticle band at their lower edges and the renormalisation of the Mott gap, which is associated with holon-doublon binding, due to the interactions of both quasiparticle species with the magnons. The zeros of the Green function at the chemical potential give the Luttinger volume, the poles of the self-energy reflect the underlying quasiparticle dispersion with a spin-renormalised hopping parameter and the optical gap is directly related to the Mott gap. Quantitatively, the square-lattice Hubbard model is one of the best-characterised problems in correlated condensed matter and many numerical calculations, all with different strengths and weaknesses, exist with which to benchmark our approach. From the semi-quantitative accuracy of our results for all but the weakest interaction strengths, we conclude that a self-consistent treatment of the spin-fluctuation effects on the charge degrees of freedom captures all the essential physics of the antiferromagnetic Mott-Hubbard insulator. We remark in addition that an analytical approximation with these properties serves a vital function in developing a full understanding of the fundamental physics of the Mott state, both in the antiferromagnetic insulator and at finite temperatures and dopings.

Superfluid-insulator transitions of two-species bosons in an optical lattice

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Isacsson, A.; Department of Physics, Yale University, P.O. Box 208120, New Haven, Connecticut 06520-8120; Cha, M.-C.

2005-11-01

We consider the two-species bosonic Hubbard model with variable interspecies interaction and hopping strength in the grand canonical ensemble with a common chemical potential. We analyze the superfluid-insulator (SI) transition for the relevant parameter regimes and compute the ground state phase diagram in the vicinity of odd filling Mott states. We find that the superfluid-insulator transition occurs with (a) simultaneous onset of superfluidity of both species or (b) coexistence of Mott insulating state of one species and superfluidity of the other or, in the case of unit filling (c) complete depopulation of one species. The superfluid-insulator transition can be firstmore » order in a large region of the phase diagram. We develop a variational mean-field method which takes into account the effect of second order quantum fluctuations on the superfluid-insulator transition and corroborate the mean-field phase diagram using a quantum Monte Carlo study.« less

Mottness Collapse in 1 T -TaS2 -xSex Transition-Metal Dichalcogenide: An Interplay between Localized and Itinerant Orbitals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qiao, Shuang; Li, Xintong; Wang, Naizhou; Ruan, Wei; Ye, Cun; Cai, Peng; Hao, Zhenqi; Yao, Hong; Chen, Xianhui; Wu, Jian; Wang, Yayu; Liu, Zheng

2017-10-01

The layered transition-metal dichalcogenide 1 T -TaS2 has been recently found to undergo a Mott-insulator-to-superconductor transition induced by high pressure, charge doping, or isovalent substitution. By combining scanning tunneling microscopy measurements and first-principles calculations, we investigate the atomic scale electronic structure of the 1 T -TaS2 Mott insulator and its evolution to the metallic state upon isovalent substitution of S with Se. We identify two distinct types of orbital textures—one localized and the other extended—and demonstrate that the interplay between them is the key factor that determines the electronic structure. In particular, we show that the continuous evolution of the charge gap visualized by scanning tunneling microscopy is due to the immersion of the localized-orbital-induced Hubbard bands into the extended-orbital-spanned Fermi sea, featuring a unique evolution from a Mott gap to a charge-transfer gap. This new mechanism of Mottness collapse revealed here suggests an interesting route for creating novel electronic states and designing future electronic devices.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mcdonald, Ross David

The alkali-doped fullerides provide the first example of a transition from a three-dimensional Mott insulator to a superconductor, enabling the effects of both dimensionality and electron correlation on superconductivity to be explored. Chemically the alkali species tunes the superconductivity in the vicinity of the the Mott transition via sample volume. Measuring the relationship between the superconducting transition temperature and upper critical field reveals a crossover from weak- to strong-coupling associated with the dynamical Jahn–Teller effect as the Mott transition is approached. The use of pulsed magnets is required because the upper critical field is enhanced in the vicinity of themore » Mott insulating phase, reaching 90 T for RbxCs3-xC60 — the highest among cubic crystals. This required close collaboration between Prof Kasahara’s group and the Mag Lab to design rf-measurements compatible with sample encapsulation in an inert atmosphere. The concomitant increase of pairing strength with lattice volume near the Mott transition suggest that the cooperative interplay between molecular electronic structure and strong electron correlations plays a key role in realizing robust superconductivity (with high-T C and high-H C2).« less

Characteristics of the Mott transition and electronic states of high-temperature cuprate superconductors from the perspective of the Hubbard model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kohno, Masanori

2018-04-01

A fundamental issue of the Mott transition is how electrons behaving as single particles carrying spin and charge in a metal change into those exhibiting separated spin and charge excitations (low-energy spin excitation and high-energy charge excitation) in a Mott insulator. This issue has attracted considerable attention particularly in relation to high-temperature cuprate superconductors, which exhibit electronic states near the Mott transition that are difficult to explain in conventional pictures. Here, from a new viewpoint of the Mott transition based on analyses of the Hubbard model, we review anomalous features observed in high-temperature cuprate superconductors near the Mott transition.

Mott transition between a spin-liquid insulator and a metal in three dimensions.

PubMed

Podolsky, Daniel; Paramekanti, Arun; Kim, Yong Baek; Senthil, T

2009-05-08

We study a bandwidth controlled Mott metal-insulator transition (MIT) from a Fermi-liquid metal to a quantum spin-liquid insulator in three dimensions. Using a slave rotor approach including gauge fluctuations, we obtain a continuous MIT and discuss finite temperature crossovers in its vicinity. We show that the specific heat C approximately Tlnln(1/T) at the MIT and that the metallic state near the MIT should exhibit a "conductivity minimum" as a function of temperature. We suggest Na4Ir3O8 as a candidate to test our predictions and compute its electron spectral function at the MIT.

Ladder physics in the spin fermion model

DOE PAGES

Tsvelik, A. M.

2017-05-01

A link is established between the spin fermion (SF) model of the cuprates and the approach based on the analogy between the physics of doped Mott insulators in two dimensions and the physics of fermionic ladders. This enables one to use nonperturbative results derived for fermionic ladders to move beyond the large-N approximation in the SF model. Here, it is shown that the paramagnon exchange postulated in the SF model has exactly the right form to facilitate the emergence of the fully gapped d-Mott state in the region of the Brillouin zone at the hot spots of the Fermi surface.more » Hence, the SF model provides an adequate description of the pseudogap.« less

Nonlinear Sensing With Collective States of Ultracold Atoms in Optical Lattices

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-04-02

20) E. Tiesinga, “Particle-hole Pair Coherence in Mott insulator quench dynamics” at the June 2014, Division of atomic, molecular, and optical...Jian, Philip R. Johnson, Eite Tiesinga. Particle-Hole Pair Coherence in Mott Insulator Quench Dynamics, P H Y S I C A L R E V I EW L E T T E R S (01...lattices. We focused on techniques that make use of the coherent superposition states in atom number. These state are not unlike the photon number

Pseudogap and electronic structure of electron-doped Sr2IrO4

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moutenet, Alice; Georges, Antoine; Ferrero, Michel

2018-04-01

We present a theoretical investigation of the effects of correlations on the electronic structure of the Mott insulator Sr2IrO4 upon electron doping. A rapid collapse of the Mott gap upon doping is found, and the electronic structure displays a strong momentum-space differentiation at low doping level: The Fermi surface consists of pockets centered around (π /2 ,π /2 ) , while a pseudogap opens near (π ,0 ) . Its physical origin is shown to be related to short-range spin correlations. The pseudogap closes upon increasing doping, but a differentiated regime characterized by a modulation of the spectral intensity along the Fermi surface persists to higher doping levels. These results, obtained within the cellular dynamical mean-field-theory framework, are discussed in comparison to recent photoemission experiments and an overall good agreement is found.

Fermi surface in the absence of a Fermi liquid in the Kondo insulator SmB 6

DOE PAGES

Hartstein, M.; Toews, W. H.; Hsu, Y. -T.; ...

2017-10-23

The search for a Fermi surface in the absence of a conventional Fermi liquid has thus far yielded very few potential candidates. Among promising materials are spin-frustrated Mott insulators near the insulator–metal transition, where theory predicts a Fermi surface associated with neutral low-energy excitations. In this paper, we reveal another route to experimentally realize a Fermi surface in the absence of a Fermi liquid by the experimental study of a Kondo insulator SmB 6 positioned close to the insulator–metal transition. We present experimental signatures down to low temperatures (<<1 K) associated with a Fermi surface in the bulk, including amore » sizeable linear specific heat coefficient, and on the application of a finite magnetic field, bulk magnetic quantum oscillations, finite quantum oscillatory entropy, and substantial enhancement in thermal conductivity well below the charge gap energy scale. Finally, the weight of evidence indicates that despite an extreme instance of Fermi liquid breakdown in Kondo insulating SmB 6, a Fermi surface arises from novel itinerant low-energy excitations that couple to magnetic fields, but not weak DC electric fields.« less

Spin-orbit coupling, strong correlation, and insulator-metal transitions: The J eff = 3 2 ferromagnetic Dirac-Mott insulator Ba 2 NaOsO 6

DOE PAGES

Gangopadhyay, Shruba; Pickett, Warren E.

2015-01-15

The double perovskite Ba 2NaOsO 6 (BNOO), an exotic example of a very high oxidation state (heptavalent) osmium d1 compound and also uncommon by being a ferromagnetic open d-shell (Mott) insulator without Jahn-Teller (JT) distortion, is modeled using a density functional theory based hybrid functional incorporating exact exchange for correlated electronic orbitals and including the large spin-orbit coupling (SOC). The experimentally observed narrow-gap ferromagnetic insulating ground state is obtained, but only when including spin-orbit coupling, making this a Dirac-Mott insulator. The calculated easy axis along [110] is in accord with experiment, providing additional support that this approach provides a realisticmore » method for studying this system. The predicted spin density for [110] spin orientation is nearly cubic (unlike for other directions), providing an explanation for the absence of JT distortion. An orbital moment of –0.4μ B strongly compensates the +0.5μ B spin moment on Os, leaving a strongly compensated moment more in line with experiment. Remarkably, the net moment lies primarily on the oxygen ions. An insulator-metal transition, by rotating the magnetization direction with an external field under moderate pressure, is predicted as one consequence of strong SOC, and metallization under moderate pressure is predicted. In conclusion, a comparison is made with the isostructural, isovalent insulator Ba 2LiOsO 6, which, however, orders antiferromagnetically.« less

Photoinduced Hund excitons in the breakdown of a two-orbital Mott insulator

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rincon, Julian; Dagotto, Elbio R.; Feiguin, Adrian E.

We study the photoinduced breakdown of a two-orbital Mott insulator and resulting metallic state. Using time-dependent density matrix renormalization group, we scrutinize the real-time dynamics of the half-filled two-orbital Hubbard model interacting with a resonant radiation field pulse. The breakdown, caused by production of doublon-holon pairs, is enhanced by Hund's exchange, which dynamically activates large orbital fluctuations. The melting of the Mott insulator is accompanied by a high to low spin transition with a concomitant reduction of antiferromagnetic spin fluctuations. Most notably, the overall time response is driven by the photogeneration of excitons with orbital character that are stabilized bymore » Hund's coupling. These unconventional “Hund excitons” correspond to bound spin-singlet orbital-triplet doublon-holon pairs. We study exciton properties such as bandwidth, binding potential, and size within a semiclassical approach. In conclusion, the photometallic state results from a coexistence of Hund excitons and doublon-holon plasma.« less

Observation of the Mott insulator to superfluid crossover of a driven-dissipative Bose-Hubbard system

PubMed Central

Tomita, Takafumi; Nakajima, Shuta; Danshita, Ippei; Takasu, Yosuke; Takahashi, Yoshiro

2017-01-01

Dissipation is ubiquitous in nature and plays a crucial role in quantum systems such as causing decoherence of quantum states. Recently, much attention has been paid to an intriguing possibility of dissipation as an efficient tool for the preparation and manipulation of quantum states. We report the realization of successful demonstration of a novel role of dissipation in a quantum phase transition using cold atoms. We realize an engineered dissipative Bose-Hubbard system by introducing a controllable strength of two-body inelastic collision via photoassociation for ultracold bosons in a three-dimensional optical lattice. In the dynamics subjected to a slow ramp-down of the optical lattice, we find that strong on-site dissipation favors the Mott insulating state: The melting of the Mott insulator is delayed, and the growth of the phase coherence is suppressed. The controllability of the dissipation is highlighted by quenching the dissipation, providing a novel method for investigating a quantum many-body state and its nonequilibrium dynamics. PMID:29291246

Photoinduced Hund excitons in the breakdown of a two-orbital Mott insulator

DOE PAGES

Rincon, Julian; Dagotto, Elbio R.; Feiguin, Adrian E.

2018-06-05

We study the photoinduced breakdown of a two-orbital Mott insulator and resulting metallic state. Using time-dependent density matrix renormalization group, we scrutinize the real-time dynamics of the half-filled two-orbital Hubbard model interacting with a resonant radiation field pulse. The breakdown, caused by production of doublon-holon pairs, is enhanced by Hund's exchange, which dynamically activates large orbital fluctuations. The melting of the Mott insulator is accompanied by a high to low spin transition with a concomitant reduction of antiferromagnetic spin fluctuations. Most notably, the overall time response is driven by the photogeneration of excitons with orbital character that are stabilized bymore » Hund's coupling. These unconventional “Hund excitons” correspond to bound spin-singlet orbital-triplet doublon-holon pairs. We study exciton properties such as bandwidth, binding potential, and size within a semiclassical approach. In conclusion, the photometallic state results from a coexistence of Hund excitons and doublon-holon plasma.« less

Dynamical time-reversal symmetry breaking and photo-induced chiral spin liquids in frustrated Mott insulators

DOE PAGES

Claassen, Martin; Jiang, Hong -Chen; Moritz, Brian; ...

2017-10-30

The search for quantum spin liquids in frustrated quantum magnets recently has enjoyed a surge of interest, with various candidate materials under intense scrutiny. However, an experimental confirmation of a gapped topological spin liquid remains an open question. Here, we show that circularly polarized light can provide a knob to drive frustrated Mott insulators into a chiral spin liquid, realizing an elusive quantum spin liquid with topological order. We find that the dynamics of a driven Kagome Mott insulator is well-captured by an effective Floquet spin model, with heating strongly suppressed, inducing a scalar spin chirality S i · (Smore » j × S k) term which dynamically breaks time-reversal while preserving SU(2) spin symmetry. We fingerprint the transient phase diagram and find a stable photo-induced chiral spin liquid near the equilibrium state. Furthermore, the results presented suggest employing dynamical symmetry breaking to engineer quantum spin liquids and access elusive phase transitions that are not readily accessible in equilibrium.« less

Producing coherent excitations in pumped Mott antiferromagnetic insulators

DOE PAGES

Wang, Yao; Claassen, Martin; Moritz, B.; ...

2017-12-15

Nonequilibrium dynamics in correlated materials has attracted attention due to the possibility of characterizing, tuning, and creating complex ordered states. To understand the photoinduced microscopic dynamics, especially the linkage under realistic pump conditions between transient states and remnant elementary excitations, we performed nonperturbative simulations of various time-resolved spectroscopies. We used the Mott antiferromagnetic insulator as a model platform. The transient dynamics of multi-particle excitations can be attributed to the interplay between Floquet virtual states and a modification of the density of states, in which interactions induce a spectral weight transfer. Using an autocorrelation of the time-dependent spectral function, we showmore » that resonance of the virtual states with the upper Hubbard band in the Mott insulator provides the route towards manipulating the electronic distribution and modifying charge and spin excitations. In conclusion, our results link transient dynamics to the nature of many-body excitations and provide an opportunity to design nonequilibrium states of matter via tuned laser pulses.« less

Quantum spin liquids and the metal-insulator transition in doped semiconductors.

PubMed

Potter, Andrew C; Barkeshli, Maissam; McGreevy, John; Senthil, T

2012-08-17

We describe a new possible route to the metal-insulator transition in doped semiconductors such as Si:P or Si:B. We explore the possibility that the loss of metallic transport occurs through Mott localization of electrons into a quantum spin liquid state with diffusive charge neutral "spinon" excitations. Such a quantum spin liquid state can appear as an intermediate phase between the metal and the Anderson-Mott insulator. An immediate testable consequence is the presence of metallic thermal conductivity at low temperature in the electrical insulator near the metal-insulator transition. Further, we show that though the transition is second order, the zero temperature residual electrical conductivity will jump as the transition is approached from the metallic side. However, the electrical conductivity will have a nonmonotonic temperature dependence that may complicate the extrapolation to zero temperature. Signatures in other experiments and some comparisons with existing data are made.

Quasistatic antiferromagnetism in the quantum wells of SmTiO3/SrTiO3 heterostructures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Need, Ryan F.; Marshall, Patrick B.; Kenney, Eric; Suter, Andreas; Prokscha, Thomas; Salman, Zaher; Kirby, Brian J.; Stemmer, Susanne; Graf, Michael J.; Wilson, Stephen D.

2018-03-01

High carrier density quantum wells embedded within a Mott insulating matrix present a rich arena for exploring unconventional electronic phase behavior ranging from non-Fermi-liquid transport and signatures of quantum criticality to pseudogap formation. Probing the proposed connection between unconventional magnetotransport and incipient electronic order within these quantum wells has however remained an enduring challenge due to the ultra-thin layer thicknesses required. Here we address this challenge by exploring the magnetic properties of high-density SrTiO3 quantum wells embedded within the antiferromagnetic Mott insulator SmTiO3 via muon spin relaxation and polarized neutron reflectometry measurements. The one electron per planar unit cell acquired by the nominal d0 band insulator SrTiO3 when embedded within a d1 Mott SmTiO3 matrix exhibits slow magnetic fluctuations that begin to freeze into a quasistatic spin state below a critical temperature T*. The appearance of this quasistatic well magnetism coincides with the previously reported opening of a pseudogap in the tunneling spectra of high carrier density wells inside this film architecture. Our data suggest a common origin of the pseudogap phase behavior in this quantum critical oxide heterostructure with those observed in bulk Mott materials close to an antiferromagnetic instability.

Importance of counter-rotating coupling in the superfluid-to-Mott-insulator quantum phase transition of light in the Jaynes-Cummings lattice

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zheng Hang; Takada, Yasutami

2011-10-15

The quantum phase transition between Mott insulator and superfluid is studied in the two-dimensional Jaynes-Cummings square lattice in which the counter-rotating coupling (CRC) is included. Both the ground state and the spectra of low-lying excitations are obtained with use of a sophisticated unitary transformation. This CRC is shown not only to induce a long-range interaction between cavities, favoring the long-range superfluid order, but also to break the conservation of local polariton number at each site, leading to the absence of the Mott lobes in the phase diagram, in sharp contrast with the case without the CRC as well as thatmore » of the Bose-Hubbard model.« less

Imaging metal-like monoclinic phase stabilized by surface coordination effect in vanadium dioxide nanobeam

PubMed Central

Li, Zejun; Wu, Jiajing; Hu, Zhenpeng; Lin, Yue; Chen, Qi; Guo, Yuqiao; Liu, Yuhua; Zhao, Yingcheng; Peng, Jing; Chu, Wangsheng; Wu, Changzheng; Xie, Yi

2017-01-01

In correlated systems, intermediate states usually appear transiently across phase transitions even at the femtosecond scale. It therefore remains an open question how to determine these intermediate states—a critical issue for understanding the origin of their correlated behaviour. Here we report a surface coordination route to successfully stabilize and directly image an intermediate state in the metal-insulator transition of vanadium dioxide. As a prototype metal-insulator transition material, we capture an unusual metal-like monoclinic phase at room temperature that has long been predicted. Coordinate bonding of L-ascorbic acid molecules with vanadium dioxide nanobeams induces charge-carrier density reorganization and stabilizes metallic monoclinic vanadium dioxide, unravelling orbital-selective Mott correlation for gap opening of the vanadium dioxide metal–insulator transition. Our study contributes to completing phase-evolution pathways in the metal-insulator transition process, and we anticipate that coordination chemistry may be a powerful tool for engineering properties of low-dimensional correlated solids. PMID:28613281

Magnetic fluctuations driven insulator-to-metal transition in Ca(Ir1−xRux)O3

PubMed Central

Gunasekera, J.; Harriger, L.; Dahal, A.; Heitmann, T.; Vignale, G.; Singh, D. K.

2015-01-01

Magnetic fluctuations in transition metal oxides are a subject of intensive research because of the key role they are expected to play in the transition from the Mott insulator to the unconventional metallic phase of these materials, and also as drivers of superconductivity. Despite much effort, a clear link between magnetic fluctuations and the insulator-to-metal transition has not yet been established. Here we report the discovery of a compelling link between magnetic fluctuations and the insulator-to-metal transition in Ca(Ir1−xRux)O3 perovskites as a function of the substitution coefficient x. We show that when the material turns from insulator to metal, at a critical value of x ~ 0.3, magnetic fluctuations tend to change their character from antiferromagnetic, a Mott insulator phase, to ferromagnetic, an itinerant electron state with Hund’s orbital coupling. These results are expected to have wide-ranging implications for our understanding of the unconventional properties of strongly correlated electrons systems. PMID:26647965

Magnetic fluctuations driven insulator-to-metal transition in Ca(Ir(1-x)Rux)O3.

PubMed

Gunasekera, J; Harriger, L; Dahal, A; Heitmann, T; Vignale, G; Singh, D K

2015-12-09

Magnetic fluctuations in transition metal oxides are a subject of intensive research because of the key role they are expected to play in the transition from the Mott insulator to the unconventional metallic phase of these materials, and also as drivers of superconductivity. Despite much effort, a clear link between magnetic fluctuations and the insulator-to-metal transition has not yet been established. Here we report the discovery of a compelling link between magnetic fluctuations and the insulator-to-metal transition in Ca(Ir1-xRux)O3 perovskites as a function of the substitution coefficient x. We show that when the material turns from insulator to metal, at a critical value of x ~ 0.3, magnetic fluctuations tend to change their character from antiferromagnetic, a Mott insulator phase, to ferromagnetic, an itinerant electron state with Hund's orbital coupling. These results are expected to have wide-ranging implications for our understanding of the unconventional properties of strongly correlated electrons systems.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mielke, Charles H.

The alkali-doped fullerides provide the first example of a transition from a three-dimensional Mott insulator to a superconductor, enabling the effects of both dimensionality and electron correlations on superconductivity to be explored. Chemically, the alkali species tunes the superconductivity in the vicinity of the Mott transition by varying the unit cell volume.

Electric-field-driven phase transition in vanadium dioxide

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, B.; Zimmers, A.; Aubin, H.; Gosh, R.; Liu, Y.; Lopez, R.

2011-03-01

In recent years, various strongly correlated materials have shown sharp switching from insulator to metallic state in their I(V) transport curves. Determining if this is purely an out of equilibrium phenomena (due to the strong electric field applied throughout the sample) or simply a Joule heating issue is still an open question. To address this issue, we have first measured local I(V) curves in vanadium dioxide (VO2) Mott insulator at various temperatures using a conducting AFM setup and determined the voltage threshold of the insulator to metal switching. By lifting the tip above the surface (> 35 nm) , wehavethenmeasuredthepurelyelectrostaticforcebetweenthetipandsamplesurfaceasthevoltagebetweenthesetwowasincreased . Inaverynarrowtemperaturerange (below 360 K) , atipheightrange (below 60 nm) andavoltageappliedrange (above 8 V) , weobservedswitchingintheelectrostaticforce (telegraphicnoisevs . timeandvs . voltage) . ThispurelyelectricfieldeffectshowsthattheswitchingphenomenonisstillpresentevenwithoutJouleheatinginVO 2 .

Excitonic Order and Superconductivity in the Two-Orbital Hubbard Model: Variational Cluster Approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fujiuchi, Ryo; Sugimoto, Koudai; Ohta, Yukinori

2018-06-01

Using the variational cluster approach based on the self-energy functional theory, we study the possible occurrence of excitonic order and superconductivity in the two-orbital Hubbard model with intra- and inter-orbital Coulomb interactions. It is known that an antiferromagnetic Mott insulator state appears in the regime of strong intra-orbital interaction, a band insulator state appears in the regime of strong inter-orbital interaction, and an excitonic insulator state appears between them. In addition to these states, we find that the s±-wave superconducting state appears in the small-correlation regime, and the dx2 - y2-wave superconducting state appears on the boundary of the antiferromagnetic Mott insulator state. We calculate the single-particle spectral function of the model and compare the band gap formation due to the superconducting and excitonic orders.

Mott glass from localization and confinement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chou, Yang-Zhi; Nandkishore, Rahul M.; Radzihovsky, Leo

2018-05-01

We study a system of fermions in one spatial dimension with linearly confining interactions and short-range disorder. We focus on the zero-temperature properties of this system, which we characterize using bosonization and the Gaussian variational method. We compute the static compressibility and ac conductivity, and thereby demonstrate that the system is incompressible, but exhibits gapless optical conductivity. This corresponds to a "Mott glass" state, distinct from an Anderson and a fully gapped Mott insulator, arising due to the interplay of disorder and charge confinement. We argue that this Mott glass phenomenology should persist to nonzero temperatures.

Ambipolar surface state thermoelectric power of topological insulator Bi2Se3.

PubMed

Kim, Dohun; Syers, Paul; Butch, Nicholas P; Paglione, Johnpierre; Fuhrer, Michael S

2014-01-01

We measure gate-tuned thermoelectric power of mechanically exfoliated Bi2Se3 thin films in the topological insulator regime. The sign of the thermoelectric power changes across the charge neutrality point as the majority carrier type switches from electron to hole, consistent with the ambipolar electric field effect observed in conductivity and Hall effect measurements. Near the charge neutrality point and at low temperatures, the gate-dependent thermoelectric power follows the semiclassical Mott relation using the expected surface state density of states but is larger than expected at high electron doping, possibly reflecting a large density of states in the bulk gap. The thermoelectric power factor shows significant enhancement near the electron-hole puddle carrier density ∼0.5 × 10(12) cm(-2) per surface at all temperatures. Together with the expected reduction of lattice thermal conductivity in low-dimensional structures, the results demonstrate that nanostructuring and Fermi level tuning of three-dimensional topological insulators can be promising routes to realize efficient thermoelectric devices.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hartstein, M.; Toews, W. H.; Hsu, Y. -T.

The search for a Fermi surface in the absence of a conventional Fermi liquid has thus far yielded very few potential candidates. Among promising materials are spin-frustrated Mott insulators near the insulator–metal transition, where theory predicts a Fermi surface associated with neutral low-energy excitations. In this paper, we reveal another route to experimentally realize a Fermi surface in the absence of a Fermi liquid by the experimental study of a Kondo insulator SmB 6 positioned close to the insulator–metal transition. We present experimental signatures down to low temperatures (<<1 K) associated with a Fermi surface in the bulk, including amore » sizeable linear specific heat coefficient, and on the application of a finite magnetic field, bulk magnetic quantum oscillations, finite quantum oscillatory entropy, and substantial enhancement in thermal conductivity well below the charge gap energy scale. Finally, the weight of evidence indicates that despite an extreme instance of Fermi liquid breakdown in Kondo insulating SmB 6, a Fermi surface arises from novel itinerant low-energy excitations that couple to magnetic fields, but not weak DC electric fields.« less

Designing Quantum Spin-Orbital Liquids in Artificial Mott Insulators

PubMed Central

Dou, Xu; Kotov, Valeri N.; Uchoa, Bruno

2016-01-01

Quantum spin-orbital liquids are elusive strongly correlated states of matter that emerge from quantum frustration between spin and orbital degrees of freedom. A promising route towards the observation of those states is the creation of artificial Mott insulators where antiferromagnetic correlations between spins and orbitals can be designed. We show that Coulomb impurity lattices on the surface of gapped honeycomb substrates, such as graphene on SiC, can be used to simulate SU(4) symmetric spin-orbital lattice models. We exploit the property that massive Dirac fermions form mid-gap bound states with spin and valley degeneracies in the vicinity of a Coulomb impurity. Due to electronic repulsion, the antiferromagnetic correlations of the impurity lattice are driven by a super-exchange interaction with SU(4) symmetry, which emerges from the bound states degeneracy at quarter filling. We propose that quantum spin-orbital liquids can be engineered in artificially designed solid-state systems at vastly higher temperatures than achievable in optical lattices with cold atoms. We discuss the experimental setup and possible scenarios for candidate quantum spin-liquids in Coulomb impurity lattices of various geometries. PMID:27553516

Travel funds for Stanford University to Host Mott MURI Annual Review and Oxide Workshop, August 6-8, 2013

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-02-25

Insulator REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE 11. SPONSOR/MONITOR’S REPORT NUMBER(S) 10. SPONSOR/MONITOR’S ACRONYM(S) ARO 8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION REPORT...THz electric‐field‐induced  insulator ‐to‐metal transition in VO2  4:10 – 4:35 pm  Adam Kajdos  Santosh Raghavan  UC Santa Barbara  A modulation doped...breakfast  9:00 – 9:40 am  Leon Balents  UC Santa Barbara  Doped Mott  insulators  – theoretical  perspectives  9:40 – 10:20 am  Shahal Ilani  Weizmann

High-quality LaVO 3 films as solar energy conversion material

DOE PAGES

Zhang, Hai -Tian; Brahlek, Matthew; Ji, Xiaoyu; ...

2017-03-21

Mott insulating oxides and their heterostructures have recently been identified as potential photovoltaic materials with favorable absorption properties and an intrinsic built-in electric field that can efficiently separate excited electron hole pairs. At the same time, they are predicted to overcome the Shockley-Queisser limit due to strong electron electron interaction present. Despite these premises a high concentration of defects commonly observed in Mott insulating films acting as recombination centers can derogate the photovoltaic conversion efficiency. With use of the self-regulated growth kinetics in hybrid molecular beam epitaxy, this obstacle can be overcome. High-quality, stoichiometric LaVO 3 films were grown withmore » defect densities of in-gap states up to 2 orders of magnitude lower compared to the films in the literature, and a factor of 3 lower than LaVO 3 bulk single crystals. Photoconductivity measurements revealed a significant photoresponsivity increase as high as tenfold of stoichiometric LaVO 3 films compared to their nonstoichiometric counterparts. Furthermore, this work marks a critical step toward the realization of high-performance Mott insulator solar cells beyond conventional semiconductors.« less

Hubbard physics in the PAW GW approximation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Booth, J. M., E-mail: jamie.booth@rmit.edu.au; Smith, J. S.; Russo, S. P.

It is demonstrated that the signatures of the Hubbard Model in the strongly interacting regime can be simulated by modifying the screening in the limit of zero wavevector in Projector-Augmented Wave GW calculations for systems without significant nesting. This modification, when applied to the Mott insulator CuO, results in the opening of the Mott gap by the splitting of states at the Fermi level into upper and lower Hubbard bands, and exhibits a giant transfer of spectral weight upon electron doping. The method is also employed to clearly illustrate that the M{sub 1} and M{sub 2} forms of vanadium dioxidemore » are fundamentally different types of insulator. Standard GW calculations are sufficient to open a gap in M{sub 1} VO{sub 2}, which arise from the Peierls pairing filling the valence band, creating homopolar bonds. The valence band wavefunctions are stabilized with respect to the conduction band, reducing polarizability and pushing the conduction band eigenvalues to higher energy. The M{sub 2} structure, however, opens a gap from strong on-site interactions; it is a Mott insulator.« less

High-Quality LaVO3 Films as Solar Energy Conversion Material.

PubMed

Zhang, Hai-Tian; Brahlek, Matthew; Ji, Xiaoyu; Lei, Shiming; Lapano, Jason; Freeland, John W; Gopalan, Venkatraman; Engel-Herbert, Roman

2017-04-12

Mott insulating oxides and their heterostructures have recently been identified as potential photovoltaic materials with favorable absorption properties and an intrinsic built-in electric field that can efficiently separate excited electron-hole pairs. At the same time, they are predicted to overcome the Shockley-Queisser limit due to strong electron-electron interaction present. Despite these premises a high concentration of defects commonly observed in Mott insulating films acting as recombination centers can derogate the photovoltaic conversion efficiency. With use of the self-regulated growth kinetics in hybrid molecular beam epitaxy, this obstacle can be overcome. High-quality, stoichiometric LaVO 3 films were grown with defect densities of in-gap states up to 2 orders of magnitude lower compared to the films in the literature, and a factor of 3 lower than LaVO 3 bulk single crystals. Photoconductivity measurements revealed a significant photoresponsivity increase as high as tenfold of stoichiometric LaVO 3 films compared to their nonstoichiometric counterparts. This work marks a critical step toward the realization of high-performance Mott insulator solar cells beyond conventional semiconductors.

Resolving the chicken-and-egg problem in VO2: a new paradigm for the Mott transition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Najera, Oscar; Civelli, Marcello; Dobrosavljevi, Vladimir; Rozenberg, Marcelo

We consider a minimal model to investigate the metal-insulator transition in VO2. We adopt a Hubbard model with two orbital per unit cell, which captures the competition between Mott and singlet-dimer localization. We solve the model within Dynamical Mean Field Theory, characterizing in detail the metal-insulator transition and finding new features in the electronic states. We compare our results with available experimental data obtaining good agreement in the relevant model parameter range. Crucially, we can account for puzzling optical conductivity data obtained within the hysteresis region, which we associate to a novel metallic state characterized by a split heavy quasiparticle band. Our results show that the thermal-driven insulator-to-metal transition in VO2 is entirely compatible with a Mott electronic mechanism, solving a long standing ''chicken-and-egg'' debate and calling for further research of ``Mottronics'' applications of this system. This work was partially supported by public Grants from the French National Research Agency (ANR), project LACUNES No ANR-13-BS04-0006-01, the NSF DMR-1005751 and DMR-1410132.

Electric field-triggered metal-insulator transition resistive switching of bilayered multiphasic VOx

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Won, Seokjae; Lee, Sang Yeon; Hwang, Jungyeon; Park, Jucheol; Seo, Hyungtak

2018-01-01

Electric field-triggered Mott transition of VO2 for next-generation memory devices with sharp and fast resistance-switching response is considered to be ideal but the formation of single-phase VO2 by common deposition techniques is very challenging. Here, VOx films with a VO2-dominant phase for a Mott transition-based metal-insulator transition (MIT) switching device were successfully fabricated by the combined process of RF magnetron sputtering of V metal and subsequent O2 annealing to form. By performing various material characterizations, including scanning transmission electron microscopy-electron energy loss spectroscopy, the film is determined to have a bilayer structure consisting of a VO2-rich bottom layer acting as the Mott transition switching layer and a V2O5/V2O3 mixed top layer acting as a control layer that suppresses any stray leakage current and improves cyclic performance. This bilayer structure enables excellent electric field-triggered Mott transition-based resistive switching of Pt-VOx-Pt metal-insulator-metal devices with a set/reset current ratio reaching 200, set/reset voltage of less than 2.5 V, and very stable DC cyclic switching upto 120 cycles with a great set/reset current and voltage distribution less than 5% of standard deviation at room temperature, which are specifications applicable for neuromorphic or memory device applications. [Figure not available: see fulltext.

Spectral properties near the Mott transition in the two-dimensional Hubbard model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kohno, Masanori

2013-03-01

Single-particle excitations near the Mott transition in the two-dimensional (2D) Hubbard model are investigated by using cluster perturbation theory. The Mott transition is characterized by the loss of the spectral weight from the dispersing mode that leads continuously to the spin-wave excitation of the Mott insulator. The origins of the dominant modes of the 2D Hubbard model near the Mott transition can be traced back to those of the one-dimensional Hubbard model. Various anomalous spectral features observed in cuprate high-temperature superconductors, such as the pseudogap, Fermi arc, flat band, doping-induced states, hole pockets, and spinon-like and holon-like branches, as well as giant kink and waterfall in the dispersion relation, are explained in a unified manner as properties near the Mott transition in a 2D system.

Describing a Strongly Correlated Model System with Density Functional Theory.

PubMed

Kong, Jing; Proynov, Emil; Yu, Jianguo; Pachter, Ruth

2017-07-06

The linear chain of hydrogen atoms, a basic prototype for the transition from a metal to Mott insulator, is studied with a recent density functional theory model functional for nondynamic and strong correlation. The computed cohesive energy curve for the transition agrees well with accurate literature results. The variation of the electronic structure in this transition is characterized with a density functional descriptor that yields the atomic population of effectively localized electrons. These new methods are also applied to the study of the Peierls dimerization of the stretched even-spaced Mott insulator to a chain of H 2 molecules, a different insulator. The transitions among the two insulating states and the metallic state of the hydrogen chain system are depicted in a semiquantitative phase diagram. Overall, we demonstrate the capability of studying strongly correlated materials with a mean-field model at the fundamental level, in contrast to the general pessimistic view on such a feasibility.

Tuning metal-insulator behavior in LaTiO3/SrTiO3 heterostructures integrated directly on Si(100) through control of atomic layer thickness

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ahmadi-Majlan, Kamyar; Chen, Tongjie; Lim, Zheng Hui; Conlin, Patrick; Hensley, Ricky; Chrysler, Matthew; Su, Dong; Chen, Hanghui; Kumah, Divine P.; Ngai, Joseph H.

2018-05-01

We present electrical and structural characterization of epitaxial LaTiO3/SrTiO3 heterostructures integrated directly on Si(100). By reducing the thicknesses of the heterostructures, an enhancement in carrier-carrier scattering is observed in the Fermi liquid behavior, followed by a metal to insulator transition in the electrical transport. The insulating behavior is described by activated transport, and its onset occurs near an occupation of 1 electron per Ti site within the SrTiO3, providing evidence for a Mott driven transition. We also discuss the role that structure and gradients in strain could play in enhancing the carrier density. The manipulation of Mott metal-insulator behavior in oxides grown directly on Si opens the pathway to harnessing strongly correlated phenomena in device technologies.

Ferroelectric control of a Mott insulator

PubMed Central

Yamada, Hiroyuki; Marinova, Maya; Altuntas, Philippe; Crassous, Arnaud; Bégon-Lours, Laura; Fusil, Stéphane; Jacquet, Eric; Garcia, Vincent; Bouzehouane, Karim; Gloter, Alexandre; Villegas, Javier E.; Barthélémy, Agnès; Bibes, Manuel

2013-01-01

The electric field control of functional properties is an important goal in oxide-based electronics. To endow devices with memory, ferroelectric gating is interesting, but usually weak compared to volatile electrolyte gating. Here, we report a very large ferroelectric field-effect in perovskite heterostructures combining the Mott insulator CaMnO3 and the ferroelectric BiFeO3 in its “supertetragonal” phase. Upon polarization reversal of the BiFeO3 gate, the CaMnO3 channel resistance shows a fourfold variation around room temperature, and a tenfold change at ~200 K. This is accompanied by a carrier density modulation exceeding one order of magnitude. We have analyzed the results for various CaMnO3 thicknesses and explain them by the electrostatic doping of the CaMnO3 layer and the presence of a fixed dipole at the CaMnO3/BiFeO3 interface. Our results suggest the relevance of ferroelectric gates to control orbital- or spin-ordered phases, ubiquitous in Mott systems, and pave the way toward efficient Mott-tronics devices. PMID:24089020

Quench dynamics and nonequilibrium phase diagram of the bose-hubbard model.

PubMed

Kollath, Corinna; Läuchli, Andreas M; Altman, Ehud

2007-05-04

We investigate the time evolution of correlations in the Bose-Hubbard model following a quench from the superfluid to the Mott insulator. For large values of the final interaction strength the system approaches a distinctly nonequilibrium steady state that bears strong memory of the initial conditions. In contrast, when the final interaction strength is comparable to the hopping, the correlations are rather well approximated by those at thermal equilibrium. The existence of two distinct nonequilibrium regimes is surprising given the nonintegrability of the Bose-Hubbard model. We relate this phenomenon to the role of quasiparticle interactions in the Mott insulator.

Volume-wise destruction of the antiferromagnetic Mott insulating state through quantum tuning.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Uemura, Yasutomo

RENiO3 (RE = rare-earth element) and V2O3 are archetypal Mott insulator systems. When tuned by chemical substitution (RENiO3) or hydrostatic pressure (V2O3) , they exhibit a quantum phase transition (QPT) between an antiferromagnetic Mott insulating state and a paramagnetic metallic state. We demonstrate through muon spin relaxation/rotation (μSR) experiments that the QPT in RENiO3 and V2O3 is first order: the magnetically ordered volume fraction decreases to zero at the QPT, resulting in a broad region of intrinsic phase separation, while the ordered magnetic moment retains its full value until it is suddenly destroyed at the QPT. These two cases correspond to the band-width tuning of Mott transitions, and also associated with structural phase transitions, Volume evolutions of antiferromagnetic transition from μSR will be compared to those of structure by x-ray and metallicity by nano optics, in first-order thermal Mott transition in a V2O3 film at ambient pressure. These results will be compared to the process of destruction of magnetic order in another Mott transition system Ba(Co,Ni)S2 in ``filling control'' without structural transition, and in parent compounds of high-Tc cuprates and Fe-based superconductors. We will also discuss roles of first-order quantum transition in generating soft modes relevant to magnetic resonance mode in unconventional superconductors. Work performed in collaboration with the groups of: J.A. Alonso (Madrid), H. Kageyama (Kyoto). E. Morenzoni (PSI), G.M. Luke (McMaster), C.Q. Jin (IOP Beijing), F.L. Ning (Zhejian), S.J.L. Billinge (Columbia), S. Shamoto, W. Higemoto (JAEA), A. Fujimori (Tokyo), A. Gauzzi (Paris), R. de Renzi (Parma), G. Kotliar (Rutgers), M. Imada (Tokyo), D. Basov (UCSD), I, Schuller (UCSD). supported by NSF DMR-1610633 and DMR-1436095 (DMREF).

Filling-driven Mott transition in SU(N ) Hubbard models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Seung-Sup B.; von Delft, Jan; Weichselbaum, Andreas

2018-04-01

We study the filling-driven Mott transition involving the metallic and paramagnetic insulating phases in SU (N ) Fermi-Hubbard models, using the dynamical mean-field theory and the numerical renormalization group as its impurity solver. The compressibility shows a striking temperature dependence: near the critical end-point temperature, it is strongly enhanced in the metallic phase close to the insulating phase. We demonstrate that this compressibility enhancement is associated with the thermal suppression of the quasiparticle peak in the local spectral functions. We also explain that the asymmetric shape of the quasiparticle peak originates from the asymmetry in the dynamics of the generalized doublons and holons.

Orbital liquid in three-dimensional mott insulator: LaTiO3

PubMed

Khaliullin; Maekawa

2000-10-30

We present a theory of spin and orbital states in Mott insulator LaTiO3. The spin-orbital superexchange interaction between d(1)(t(2g)) ions in cubic crystal suffers from a pathological degeneracy of orbital states at the classical level. Quantum effects remove this degeneracy and result in the formation of the coherent ground state, in which the orbital moment of t(2g) level is fully quenched. We find a finite gap for orbital excitations. Such a disordered state of local degrees of freedom on unfrustrated, simple cubic lattice is highly unusual. Orbital liquid state naturally explains observed anomalies of LaTiO3.

SU (N ) spin-wave theory: Application to spin-orbital Mott insulators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dong, Zhao-Yang; Wang, Wei; Li, Jian-Xin

2018-05-01

We present the application of the SU (N ) spin-wave theory to spin-orbital Mott insulators whose ground states exhibit magnetic orders. When taking both spin and orbital degrees of freedom into account rather than projecting Hilbert space onto the Kramers doublet, which is the lowest spin-orbital locked energy levels, the SU (N ) spin-wave theory should take the place of the SU (2 ) one due to the inevitable spin-orbital multipole exchange interactions. To implement the application, we introduce an efficient general local mean-field method, which involves all local fluctuations, and develop the SU (N ) linear spin-wave theory. Our approach is tested firstly by calculating the multipolar spin-wave spectra of the SU (4 ) antiferromagnetic model. Then, we apply it to spin-orbital Mott insulators. It is revealed that the Hund's coupling would influence the effectiveness of the isospin-1 /2 picture when the spin-orbital coupling is not large enough. We further carry out the SU (N ) spin-wave calculations of two materials, α -RuCl3 and Sr2IrO4 , and find that the magnonic and spin-orbital excitations are consistent with experiments.

Ultrafast energy- and momentum-resolved dynamics of magnetic correlations in the photo-doped Mott insulator Sr2IrO4.

PubMed

Dean, M P M; Cao, Y; Liu, X; Wall, S; Zhu, D; Mankowsky, R; Thampy, V; Chen, X M; Vale, J G; Casa, D; Kim, Jungho; Said, A H; Juhas, P; Alonso-Mori, R; Glownia, J M; Robert, A; Robinson, J; Sikorski, M; Song, S; Kozina, M; Lemke, H; Patthey, L; Owada, S; Katayama, T; Yabashi, M; Tanaka, Yoshikazu; Togashi, T; Liu, J; Rayan Serrao, C; Kim, B J; Huber, L; Chang, C-L; McMorrow, D F; Först, M; Hill, J P

2016-06-01

Measuring how the magnetic correlations evolve in doped Mott insulators has greatly improved our understanding of the pseudogap, non-Fermi liquids and high-temperature superconductivity. Recently, photo-excitation has been used to induce similarly exotic states transiently. However, the lack of available probes of magnetic correlations in the time domain hinders our understanding of these photo-induced states and how they could be controlled. Here, we implement magnetic resonant inelastic X-ray scattering at a free-electron laser to directly determine the magnetic dynamics after photo-doping the Mott insulator Sr2IrO4. We find that the non-equilibrium state, 2 ps after the excitation, exhibits strongly suppressed long-range magnetic order, but hosts photo-carriers that induce strong, non-thermal magnetic correlations. These two-dimensional (2D) in-plane Néel correlations recover within a few picoseconds, whereas the three-dimensional (3D) long-range magnetic order restores on a fluence-dependent timescale of a few hundred picoseconds. The marked difference in these two timescales implies that the dimensionality of magnetic correlations is vital for our understanding of ultrafast magnetic dynamics.

Electronic structure of Mott-insulator CaCu3Ti4O12: Photoemission and inverse photoemission study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Im, H. J.; Iwataki, M.; Yamazaki, S.; Usui, T.; Adachi, S.; Tsunekawa, M.; Watanabe, T.; Takegahara, K.; Kimura, S.; Matsunami, M.; Sato, H.; Namatame, H.; Taniguchi, M.

2015-09-01

We have performed the photoemission and inverse photoemission experiments to elucidate the origin of Mott insulating states in A-site ordered perovskite CaCu3Ti4O12 (CCTO). Experimental results have revealed that Cu 3d-O 2p hybridized bands, which are located around the Fermi level in the prediction of the local-density approximation (LDA) band calculations, are actually separated into the upper Hubbard band at ~1.5 eV and the lower Hubbard band at ~-1.7 eV with a band gap of ~1.5-1.8 eV. We also observed that Cu 3d peak at ~-3.8 eV and Ti 3d peak at ~3.8 eV are further away from each other than as indicated in the LDA calculations. In addition, it is found that the multiplet structure around -9 eV includes a considerable number of O 2p states. These observations indicate that the Cu 3d and Ti 3d electrons hybridized with the O 2p states are strongly correlated, which originates in the Mott-insulating states of CCTO.

Metal-insulator-superconductor transition of spin-3/2 atoms on optical lattices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

De Silva, Theja N.

2018-01-01

We use a slave-rotor approach within a mean-field theory to study the competition of metallic, Mott-insulating, and superconducting phases of spin-3/2 fermions subjected to a periodic optical lattice potential. In addition to the metallic, the Mott-insulating, and the superconducting phases that are associated with the gauge symmetry breaking of the spinon field, we identify an emerging superconducting phase that breaks both roton and spinon field gauge symmetries. This superconducting phase emerges as a result of the competition between spin-0 singlet and spin-2 quintet interaction channels naturally available for spin-3/2 systems. The two superconducting phases can be distinguished from each other by quasiparticle weight. We further discuss the properties of these phases for both two-dimensional square and three-dimensional cubic lattices at zero and finite temperatures.

Polymorphous band structure model of gapping in the antiferromagnetic and paramagnetic phases of the Mott insulators MnO, FeO, CoO, and NiO

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Trimarchi, Giancarlo; Wang, Zhi; Zunger, Alex

2018-01-01

The existence of band gaps in both the antiferromagnetic (AFM) and paramagnetic (PM) phases of the classic NaCl-structure Mott insulators MnO, FeO, CoO, and NiO is traditionally viewed and taught as a manifestation of strong correlation whereby insulation results from electrons moving across the lattice forming states with doubly occupied d orbitals on certain atomic sites and empty d orbitals on other sites. Within such theories, the gap of the AFM and PM phases of these oxides emerges even in the absence of spatial symmetry breaking. The need for such a correlated picture is partially based on the known failure of the commonly used band models for the PM phase that assume for such a spin disordered state the macroscopically averaged NaCl structure, where all transition metal (TM) sites are symmetry-equivalent (a monomorphous description), producing a gapless PM state with zero magnetic moments, in sharp conflict with experiment. Here, we seek to understand the minimum theoretical description needed to capture the leading descriptors of ground state Mott insulation in the classic, 3 d monoxide Mott systems—gapping and moment formation in the AFM and PM phase. As noted by previous authors, the spin-ordered AFM phase in these materials already shows in band theory a significant band gap when one doubles the NaCl unit cell by permitting different potentials for transition-metal atoms with different spins. For the spin-disordered PM phase, we allow analogously larger NaCl-type supercells where each TM site can have different spin direction and local bonding environments (i.e., disordered), yet the total spin is zero. Such a polymorphous description has the flexibility to acquire symmetry-breaking energy-lowering patterns that can lift the degeneracy of the d orbitals and develop large on-site magnetic moments without violating the global, averaged NaCl symmetry. Electrons are exchanged between spin-up and spin-down bands to create closed-shell insulating configurations that lend themselves to a single determinental description. It turns out that such a polymorphous description of the structure within the single-determinant, mean-field, Bloch periodic band structure approach (based on DFT +U ) allows large on-site magnetic moments to develop spontaneously, leading to significant (1-3 eV) band gaps and large local moments in the AFM and PM phases of the classic NaCl-structure Mott insulators MnO, FeO, CoO, and NiO in agreement with experiment. We adapt to the spin disordered polymorphous configurations the "special quasirandom structure" (SQS) construct known from the theory of disordered substitutional alloys whereby supercell approximants which represent the best random configuration average (not individual snapshots) for finite (64, 216 atoms, or larger) supercells of a given lattice symmetry are constructed. We conclude that the basic features of these paradigmatic Mott insulators can be approximated by the physics included in energy-lowering symmetry broken DFT.

Designing Quantum Spin-Orbital Liquids in Artificial Mott Insulators

DOE PAGES

Dou, Xu; Kotov, Valeri N.; Uchoa, Bruno

2016-08-24

Quantum spin-orbital liquids are elusive strongly correlated states of matter that emerge from quantum frustration between spin and orbital degrees of freedom. A promising route towards the observation of those states is the creation of artificial Mott insulators where antiferromagnetic correlations between spins and orbitals can be designed. We show that Coulomb impurity lattices on the surface of gapped honeycomb substrates, such as graphene on SiC, can be used to simulate SU(4) symmetric spin-orbital lattice models. We exploit the property that massive Dirac fermions form mid-gap bound states with spin and valley degeneracies in the vicinity of a Coulomb impurity.more » Due to electronic repulsion, the antiferromagnetic correlations of the impurity lattice are driven by a super-exchange interaction with SU(4) symmetry, which emerges from the bound states degeneracy at quarter filling. We propose that quantum spin-orbital liquids can be engineered in artificially designed solid-state systems at vastly higher temperatures than achievable in optical lattices with cold atoms. Lastly, we discuss the experimental setup and possible scenarios for candidate quantum spin-liquids in Coulomb impurity lattices of various geometries.« less

High-carrier-density phase in LaTiO3/SrTiO3 superlattices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, Se Young; Rabe, Karin; Millis, Andrew

2015-03-01

We investigate superlattices composed of alternating layers of Mott insulating LaTiO3 and band insulating SrTiO3 from first principles, using the density functional theory plus U (DFT+U) method. For values of U above a critical threshold, we find that melting of the Mott-insulating phase can extend from the interface into the LaTiO3 layer, resulting in a sheet carrier density exceeding the density of 0.5 electrons per in-plane unit cell found in previous studies. The critical U for the melting transition is larger than the critical Coulomb correlation required for the insulating LaTiO3, suggesting the existence of a high sheet carrier density phase in LaTiO3/SrTiO3 superlattices. The effects of in-plane strain and varying layer thickness on the melting transition are discussed. For insulating superlattices, we study the strain and thickness dependence of the polarization and its relation to near-interface local atomic distortions. Support: DOE ER 046169, ONR N00014-11-0666.

Two-dimensional superconductivity at a Mott insulator/band insulator interface LaTiO3/SrTiO3.

PubMed

Biscaras, J; Bergeal, N; Kushwaha, A; Wolf, T; Rastogi, A; Budhani, R C; Lesueur, J

2010-10-05

Transition metal oxides show a great variety of quantum electronic behaviours where correlations often have an important role. The achievement of high-quality epitaxial interfaces involving such materials gives a unique opportunity to engineer artificial structures where new electronic orders take place. One of the most striking result in this area is the recent observation of a two-dimensional electron gas at the interface between a strongly correlated Mott insulator LaTiO(3) and a band insulator SrTiO(3). The mechanism responsible for such a behaviour is still under debate. In particular, the influence of the nature of the insulator has to be clarified. In this article, we show that despite the expected electronic correlations, LaTiO(3)/SrTiO(3) heterostructures undergo a superconducting transition at a critical temperature T(c)(onset)~300 mK. We have found that the superconducting electron gas is confined over a typical thickness of 12 nm and is located mostly on the SrTiO(3) substrate.

Dimensionality Control of d-orbital Occupation in Oxide Superlattices

PubMed Central

Jeong, Da Woon; Choi, Woo Seok; Okamoto, Satoshi; Kim, Jae–Young; Kim, Kyung Wan; Moon, Soon Jae; Cho, Deok–Yong; Lee, Ho Nyung; Noh, Tae Won

2014-01-01

Manipulating the orbital state in a strongly correlated electron system is of fundamental and technological importance for exploring and developing novel electronic phases. Here, we report an unambiguous demonstration of orbital occupancy control between t2g and eg multiplets in quasi-two-dimensional transition metal oxide superlattices (SLs) composed of a Mott insulator LaCoO3 and a band insulator LaAlO3. As the LaCoO3 sublayer thickness approaches its fundamental limit (i.e. one unit-cell-thick), the electronic state of the SLs changed from a Mott insulator, in which both t2g and eg orbitals are partially filled, to a band insulator by completely filling (emptying) the t2g (eg) orbitals. We found the reduction of dimensionality has a profound effect on the electronic structure evolution, which is, whereas, insensitive to the epitaxial strain. The remarkable orbital controllability shown here offers a promising pathway for novel applications such as catalysis and photovoltaics, where the energy of d level is an essential parameter. PMID:25134975

Scaling universality at the dynamic vortex Mott transition

DOE PAGES

Lankhorst, M.; Poccia, N.; Stehno, M. P.; ...

2018-01-17

The cleanest way to observe a dynamic Mott insulator-to-metal transition (DMT) without the interference from disorder and other effects inherent to electronic and atomic systems, is to employ the vortex Mott states formed by superconducting vortices in a regular array of pinning sites. Here, we report the critical behavior of the vortex system as it crosses the DMT line, driven by either current or temperature. We find universal scaling with respect to both, expressed by the same scaling function and characterized by a single critical exponent coinciding with the exponent for the thermodynamic Mott transition. We develop a theory formore » the DMT based on the parity reflection-time reversal (PT) symmetry breaking formalism and find that the nonequilibrium-induced Mott transition has the same critical behavior as the thermal Mott transition. Our findings demonstrate the existence of physical systems in which the effect of a nonequilibrium drive is to generate an effective temperature and hence the transition belonging in the thermal universality class.« less

Scaling universality at the dynamic vortex Mott transition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lankhorst, M.; Poccia, N.; Stehno, M. P.; Galda, A.; Barman, H.; Coneri, F.; Hilgenkamp, H.; Brinkman, A.; Golubov, A. A.; Tripathi, V.; Baturina, T. I.; Vinokur, V. M.

2018-01-01

The cleanest way to observe a dynamic Mott insulator-to-metal transition (DMT) without the interference from disorder and other effects inherent to electronic and atomic systems, is to employ the vortex Mott states formed by superconducting vortices in a regular array of pinning sites. Here, we report the critical behavior of the vortex system as it crosses the DMT line, driven by either current or temperature. We find universal scaling with respect to both, expressed by the same scaling function and characterized by a single critical exponent coinciding with the exponent for the thermodynamic Mott transition. We develop a theory for the DMT based on the parity reflection-time reversal (P T ) symmetry breaking formalism and find that the nonequilibrium-induced Mott transition has the same critical behavior as the thermal Mott transition. Our findings demonstrate the existence of physical systems in which the effect of a nonequilibrium drive is to generate an effective temperature and hence the transition belonging in the thermal universality class.

Evidence for a quantum dipole liquid state in an organic quasi–two-dimensional material

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hassan, Nora; Cunningham, Streit; Mourigal, Martin; Zhilyaeva, Elena I.; Torunova, Svetlana A.; Lyubovskaya, Rimma N.; Schlueter, John A.; Drichko, Natalia

2018-06-01

Mott insulators are commonly pictured with electrons localized on lattice sites, with their low-energy degrees of freedom involving spins only. Here, we observe emergent charge degrees of freedom in a molecule-based Mott insulator κ-(BEDT-TTF)2Hg(SCN)2Br, resulting in a quantum dipole liquid state. Electrons localized on molecular dimer lattice sites form electric dipoles that do not order at low temperatures and fluctuate with frequency detected experimentally in our Raman spectroscopy experiments. The heat capacity and Raman scattering response are consistent with a scenario in which the composite spin and electric dipole degrees of freedom remain fluctuating down to the lowest measured temperatures.

Designing a Spin-one Mott Insulator: Complete Charge Transfer in Nickelate-Titanate Heterostructures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Hanghui; Marianetti, Chris; Millis, Andrew

2013-03-01

Ab initio calculations are performed to show that complete charge transfer may occur from the TiO2 to the NiO2 layers in (LaTiO3)1/(LaNiO3)1 superlattices. Although the two component materials are an S = 1 / 2 Mott insulator and a weakly correlated paramagnetic metal, strong correlation effects on Ni d states can render the superlattice an unusual S = 1 charge transfer insulator, with the Ti- d band empty, the Ni in the d8 state and the oxygen bands filled. The charge transfer gap is set by the Ti/Ni d level splitting. Magnetic, photoemission and x-ray scattering experiments are suggested to test the theory. The results show that heterostructuring can lead to very high levels of electron doping of oxides. This research was supported by the Army Research Office under ARO-Ph 56032 and DOE-ER-046169.

Disentangled Cooperative Orderings in Artificial Rare-Earth Nickelates.

PubMed

Middey, S; Meyers, D; Kareev, M; Cao, Yanwei; Liu, X; Shafer, P; Freeland, J W; Kim, J-W; Ryan, P J; Chakhalian, J

2018-04-13

Coupled transitions between distinct ordered phases are important aspects behind the rich phase complexity of correlated oxides that hinder our understanding of the underlying phenomena. For this reason, fundamental control over complex transitions has become a leading motivation of the designer approach to materials. We have devised a series of new superlattices by combining a Mott insulator and a correlated metal to form ultrashort period superlattices, which allow one to disentangle the simultaneous orderings in RENiO_{3}. Tailoring an incommensurate heterostructure period relative to the bulk charge ordering pattern suppresses the charge order transition while preserving metal-insulator and antiferromagnetic transitions. Such selective decoupling of the entangled phases resolves the long-standing puzzle about the driving force behind the metal-insulator transition and points to the site-selective Mott transition as the operative mechanism. This designer approach emphasizes the potential of heterointerfaces for selective control of simultaneous transitions in complex materials with entwined broken symmetries.

Prospect of quantum anomalous Hall and quantum spin Hall effect in doped kagome lattice Mott insulators.

PubMed

Guterding, Daniel; Jeschke, Harald O; Valentí, Roser

2016-05-17

Electronic states with non-trivial topology host a number of novel phenomena with potential for revolutionizing information technology. The quantum anomalous Hall effect provides spin-polarized dissipation-free transport of electrons, while the quantum spin Hall effect in combination with superconductivity has been proposed as the basis for realizing decoherence-free quantum computing. We introduce a new strategy for realizing these effects, namely by hole and electron doping kagome lattice Mott insulators through, for instance, chemical substitution. As an example, we apply this new approach to the natural mineral herbertsmithite. We prove the feasibility of the proposed modifications by performing ab-initio density functional theory calculations and demonstrate the occurrence of the predicted effects using realistic models. Our results herald a new family of quantum anomalous Hall and quantum spin Hall insulators at affordable energy/temperature scales based on kagome lattices of transition metal ions.

Disentangled Cooperative Orderings in Artificial Rare-Earth Nickelates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Middey, S.; Meyers, D.; Kareev, M.; Cao, Yanwei; Liu, X.; Shafer, P.; Freeland, J. W.; Kim, J.-W.; Ryan, P. J.; Chakhalian, J.

2018-04-01

Coupled transitions between distinct ordered phases are important aspects behind the rich phase complexity of correlated oxides that hinder our understanding of the underlying phenomena. For this reason, fundamental control over complex transitions has become a leading motivation of the designer approach to materials. We have devised a series of new superlattices by combining a Mott insulator and a correlated metal to form ultrashort period superlattices, which allow one to disentangle the simultaneous orderings in RENiO3 . Tailoring an incommensurate heterostructure period relative to the bulk charge ordering pattern suppresses the charge order transition while preserving metal-insulator and antiferromagnetic transitions. Such selective decoupling of the entangled phases resolves the long-standing puzzle about the driving force behind the metal-insulator transition and points to the site-selective Mott transition as the operative mechanism. This designer approach emphasizes the potential of heterointerfaces for selective control of simultaneous transitions in complex materials with entwined broken symmetries.

Tuning metal-insulator behavior in LaTiO 3/SrTiO 3 heterostructures integrated directly on Si(100) through control of atomic layer thickness

DOE PAGES

Ahmadi-Majlan, Kamyar; Chen, Tongjie; Lim, Zheng Hui; ...

2018-05-07

Here, we present electrical and structural characterization of epitaxial LaTiO 3/SrTiO 3 heterostructures integrated directly on Si(100). By reducing the thicknesses of the heterostructures, an enhancement in carrier-carrier scattering is observed in the Fermi liquid behavior, followed by a metal to insulator transition in the electrical transport. The insulating behavior is described by activated transport, and its onset occurs near 1 electron per Ti occupation within the SrTiO 3 well, providing evidence for a Mott driven transition. We also discuss the role that structure and gradients in strain could play in enhancing the carrier density. The manipulation of Mott metal-insulatormore » behavior in oxides grown directly on Si opens the pathway to harnessing strongly correlated phenomena in device technologies.« less

Tuning metal-insulator behavior in LaTiO 3/SrTiO 3 heterostructures integrated directly on Si(100) through control of atomic layer thickness

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ahmadi-Majlan, Kamyar; Chen, Tongjie; Lim, Zheng Hui

Here, we present electrical and structural characterization of epitaxial LaTiO 3/SrTiO 3 heterostructures integrated directly on Si(100). By reducing the thicknesses of the heterostructures, an enhancement in carrier-carrier scattering is observed in the Fermi liquid behavior, followed by a metal to insulator transition in the electrical transport. The insulating behavior is described by activated transport, and its onset occurs near 1 electron per Ti occupation within the SrTiO 3 well, providing evidence for a Mott driven transition. We also discuss the role that structure and gradients in strain could play in enhancing the carrier density. The manipulation of Mott metal-insulatormore » behavior in oxides grown directly on Si opens the pathway to harnessing strongly correlated phenomena in device technologies.« less

Ultrafast energy- and momentum-resolved dynamics of magnetic correlations in the photo-doped Mott insulator Sr 2IrO 4

DOE PAGES

Dean, M. P. M.; Cao, Y.; Liu, X.; ...

2016-05-09

Measuring how the magnetic correlations evolve in doped Mott insulators has greatly improved our understanding of the pseudogap, non-Fermi liquids and high-temperature superconductivity 1, 2, 3, 4. Recently, photo-excitation has been used to induce similarly exotic states transiently 5, 6, 7. However, the lack of available probes of magnetic correlations in the time domain hinders our understanding of these photo-induced states and how they could be controlled. Here, we implement magnetic resonant inelastic X-ray scattering at a free-electron laser to directly determine the magnetic dynamics after photo-doping the Mott insulator Sr 2IrO 4. We find that the non-equilibrium state, 2more » ps after the excitation, exhibits strongly suppressed long-range magnetic order, but hosts photo-carriers that induce strong, non-thermal magnetic correlations. These two-dimensional (2D) in-plane Néel correlations recover within a few picoseconds, whereas the three-dimensional (3D) long-range magnetic order restores on a fluence-dependent timescale of a few hundred picoseconds. In conclusion, the marked difference in these two timescales implies that the dimensionality of magnetic correlations is vital for our understanding of ultrafast magnetic dynamics.« less

Microscopic Studies of Quantum Phase Transitions in Optical Lattices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bakr, Waseem S.

2011-12-01

In this thesis, I report on experiments that microscopically probe quantum phase transitions of ultracold atoms in optical lattices. We have developed a "quantum gas microscope" that allowed, for the first time, optical imaging and manipulation of single atoms in a quantum-degenerate gas on individual sites of an optical lattice. This system acts as a quantum simulator of strongly correlated materials, which are currently the subject of intense research because of the technological potential of high--T c superconductors and spintronic materials. We have used our microscope to study the superfluid to Mott insulator transition in bosons and a magnetic quantum phase transition in a spin system. In our microscopic study of the superfluid-insulator transition, we have characterized the on-site number statistics in a space- and time-resolved manner. We observed Mott insulators with fidelities as high as 99%, corresponding to entropies of 0.06kB per particle. We also measured local quantum dynamics and directly imaged the shell structure of the Mott insulator. I report on the first quantum magnetism experiments in optical lattices. We have realized a quantum Ising chain in a magnetic field, and observed a quantum phase transition between a paramagnet and antiferromagnet. We achieved strong spin interactions by encoding spins in excitations of a Mott insulator in a tilted lattice. We detected the transition by measuring the total magnetization of the system across the transition using in-situ measurements as well as the Neel ordering in the antiferromagnetic state using noise-correlation techniques. We characterized the dynamics of domain formation in the system. The spin mapping introduced opens up a new path to realizing more exotic states in optical lattices including spin liquids and quantum valence bond solids. As our system sizes become larger, simulating their physics on classical computers will require exponentially larger resources because of entanglement build-up near a quantum phase transition. We have demonstrated a quantum simulator in which all degrees of freedom can be read out microscopically, allowing the simulation of quantum many-body systems with manageable resources. More generally, the ability to image and manipulate individual atoms in optical lattices opens an avenue towards scalable quantum computation.

Emergent Phenomena at Mott Interfaces

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-11-03

from a two-dimensional electron gas at a Mott/band insulator interface, Applied Physics Letters, (10 2012): 151604. doi: 10.1063/1.4758989...coefficient of a quantum confined, high-electron-density electron gas in SrTiO3, Applied Physics Letters, (04 2012): 161601. doi: 10.1063...Jalan, Susanne Stemmer, Shawn Mack, S. James Allen. Two-dimensional electron gas in delta- doped SrTiO3, Physical Review B, (08 2010): . doi: A

Tuning the metal-insulator transition in d1 and d2 perovskites by epitaxial strain: A first-principles-based study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sclauzero, Gabriele; Dymkowski, Krzysztof; Ederer, Claude

2016-12-01

We investigate the effect of epitaxial strain on the Mott metal-insulator transition (MIT) in perovskite systems with d1 and d2 electron configurations of the transition metal (TM) cation. We first discuss the general trends expected from the changes in the crystal-field splitting and in the hopping parameters that are induced by epitaxial strain. We argue that the strain-induced crystal-field splitting generally favors the Mott-insulating state, whereas the strain-induced changes in the hopping parameters favor the metallic state under compressive strain and the insulating state under tensile strain. Thus the two effects can effectively cancel each other under compressive strain, while they usually cooperate under tensile strain, in this case favoring the insulating state. We then validate these general considerations by performing electronic structure calculations for several d1 and d2 perovskites, using a combination of density functional theory (DFT) and dynamical mean-field theory (DMFT). We isolate the individual effects of strain-induced changes in either hopping or crystal-field by performing DMFT calculations where we fix one type of parameter to the corresponding unstrained DFT values. These calculations confirm our general considerations for SrVO3 (d1) and LaVO3 (d2), whereas the case of LaTiO3 (d1) is distinctly different, due to the strong effect of the octahedral tilt distortion in the underlying perovskite crystal structure. Our results demonstrate the possibility to tune the electronic properties of correlated TM oxides by using epitaxial strain, which allows to control the strength of electronic correlations and the vicinity to the Mott MIT.

Insulating phase in Sr2IrO4: An investigation using critical analysis and magnetocaloric effect

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bhatti, Imtiaz Noor; Pramanik, A. K.

2017-01-01

The nature of insulating phase in 5d based Sr2IrO4 is quite debated as the theoretical as well as experimental investigations have put forward evidences in favor of both magnetically driven Slater-type and interaction driven Mott-type insulator. To understand this insulating behavior, we have investigated the nature of magnetic state in Sr2IrO4 through studying critical exponents, low temperature thermal demagnetization and magnetocaloric effect. The estimated critical exponents do not exactly match with any universality class, however, the values obey the scaling behavior. The exponent values suggest that spin interaction in present material is close to mean-field model. The analysis of low temperature thermal demagnetization data, however, shows dual presence of localized- and itinerant-type of magnetic interaction. Moreover, field dependent change in magnetic entropy indicates magnetic interaction is close to mean-field type. While this material shows an insulating behavior across the magnetic transition, yet a distinct change in slope in resistivity is observed around Tc. We infer that though the insulating phase in Sr2IrO4 is more close to be Slater-type but the simultaneous presence of both Slater- and Mott-type is the likely scenario for this material.

Inhomogeneous field induced magnetoelectric effect in Mott insulators

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Boulaevskii, Lev N; Batista, Cristian D

2008-01-01

We consider a Mott insulator like HoMnO{sub 3} whose magnetic lattice is geometrically frustrated and comprises a 3D array of triangular layers with magnetic moments ordered in a 120{sup o} structure. We show that the effect of a uniform magnetic field gradient, {gradient}H, is to redistribute the electronic charge of the magnetically ordered phase leading to a unfirom electric field gradient. The resulting voltage difference between the crystal edges is proportional to the square of the crystal thickness, or inter-edge distance, L. It can reach values of several volts for |{gradient}H| {approx} 0.01 T/cm and L {approx_equal} 1mm, as longmore » as the crystal is free of antiferromagnetic domain walls.« less

Phase diagram of the ultrafast photoinduced insulator-metal transition in vanadium dioxide

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cocker, T. L.; Titova, L. V.; Fourmaux, S.; Holloway, G.; Bandulet, H.-C.; Brassard, D.; Kieffer, J.-C.; El Khakani, M. A.; Hegmann, F. A.

2012-04-01

We use time-resolved terahertz spectroscopy to probe the ultrafast dynamics of the insulator-metal phase transition induced by femtosecond laser pulses in a nanogranular vanadium dioxide (VO2) film. Based on the observed thresholds for characteristic transient terahertz dynamics, a phase diagram of critical pump fluence versus temperature for the insulator-metal phase transition in VO2 is established for the first time over a broad range of temperatures down to 17 K. We find that both Mott and Peierls mechanisms are present in the insulating state and that the photoinduced transition is nonthermal. We propose a critical-threshold model for the ultrafast photoinduced transition based on a critical density of electrons and a critical density of coherently excited phonons necessary for the structural transition to the metallic state. As a result, evidence is found at low temperatures for an intermediate metallic state wherein the Mott state is melted but the Peierls distortion remains intact, consistent with recent theoretical predictions. Finally, the observed terahertz conductivity dynamics above the photoinduced transition threshold reveal nucleation and growth of metallic nanodomains over picosecond time scales.

Coulomb correlations in 4d and 5d oxides from first principles—or how spin-orbit materials choose their effective orbital degeneracies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martins, C.; Aichhorn, M.; Biermann, S.

2017-07-01

The interplay of spin-orbit coupling and Coulomb correlations has become a hot topic in condensed matter theory and is especially important in 4d and 5d transition metal oxides, like iridates or rhodates. Here, we review recent advances in dynamical mean-field theory (DMFT)-based electronic structure calculations for treating such compounds, introducing all necessary implementation details. We also discuss the evaluation of Hubbard interactions in spin-orbit materials. As an example, we perform DMFT calculations on insulating strontium iridate (Sr2IrO4) and its 4d metallic counterpart, strontium rhodate (Sr2RhO4). While a Mott-insulating state is obtained for Sr2IrO4 in its paramagnetic phase, the spectral properties and Fermi surfaces obtained for Sr2RhO4 show excellent agreement with available experimental data. Finally, we discuss the electronic structure of these two compounds by introducing the notion of effective spin-orbital degeneracy as the key quantity that determines the correlation strength. We stress that effective spin-orbital degeneracy introduces an additional axis into the conventional picture of a phase diagram based on filling and on the ratio of interactions to bandwidth, analogous to the degeneracy-controlled Mott transition in d1 perovskites.

Coulomb correlations in 4d and 5d oxides from first principles-or how spin-orbit materials choose their effective orbital degeneracies.

PubMed

Martins, C; Aichhorn, M; Biermann, S

2017-07-05

The interplay of spin-orbit coupling and Coulomb correlations has become a hot topic in condensed matter theory and is especially important in 4d and 5d transition metal oxides, like iridates or rhodates. Here, we review recent advances in dynamical mean-field theory (DMFT)-based electronic structure calculations for treating such compounds, introducing all necessary implementation details. We also discuss the evaluation of Hubbard interactions in spin-orbit materials. As an example, we perform DMFT calculations on insulating strontium iridate (Sr 2 IrO 4 ) and its 4d metallic counterpart, strontium rhodate (Sr 2 RhO 4 ). While a Mott-insulating state is obtained for Sr 2 IrO 4 in its paramagnetic phase, the spectral properties and Fermi surfaces obtained for Sr 2 RhO 4 show excellent agreement with available experimental data. Finally, we discuss the electronic structure of these two compounds by introducing the notion of effective spin-orbital degeneracy as the key quantity that determines the correlation strength. We stress that effective spin-orbital degeneracy introduces an additional axis into the conventional picture of a phase diagram based on filling and on the ratio of interactions to bandwidth, analogous to the degeneracy-controlled Mott transition in d 1 perovskites.

Non-destructive reversible resistive switching in Cr doped Mott insulator Ca2RuO4: Interface vs bulk effects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shen, Shida; Williamson, Morgan; Cao, Gang; Zhou, Jianshi; Goodenough, John; Tsoi, Maxim

2017-12-01

A non-destructive reversible resistive switching is demonstrated in single crystals of Cr-doped Mott insulator Ca2RuO4. An applied electrical bias was shown to reduce the DC resistance of the crystal by as much as 75%. The original resistance of the sample could be restored by applying an electrical bias of opposite polarity. We have studied this resistive switching as a function of the bias strength, applied magnetic field, and temperature. A combination of 2-, 3-, and 4-probe measurements provide a means to distinguish between bulk and interfacial contributions to the switching and suggests that the switching is mostly an interfacial effect. The switching was tentatively attributed to electric-field driven lattice distortions which accompany the impurity-induced Mott transition. This field effect was confirmed by temperature-dependent resistivity measurements which show that the activation energy of this material can be tuned by an applied DC electrical bias. The observed resistance switching can potentially be used for building non-volatile memory devices like resistive random access memory.

Impact ionization processes in the steady state of a driven Mott-insulating layer coupled to metallic leads

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sorantin, Max E.; Dorda, Antonius; Held, Karsten; Arrigoni, Enrico

2018-03-01

We study a simple model of photovoltaic energy harvesting across a Mott-insulating gap consisting of a correlated layer connected to two metallic leads held at different chemical potentials. We address, in particular, the issue of impact ionization, whereby a particle photoexcited to the high-energy part of the upper Hubbard band uses its extra energy to produce a second particle-hole excitation. We find a drastic increase of the photocurrent upon entering the frequency regime where impact ionization is possible. At large values of the Mott gap, where impact ionization is energetically not allowed, we observe a suppression of the current and a piling up of charge in the high-energy part of the upper Hubbard band. Our study is based on a Floquet dynamical mean-field theory treatment of the steady state with the so-called auxiliary master equation approach as impurity solver. We verify that an additional approximation, taking the self-energy diagonal in the Floquet indices, is appropriate for the parameter range we are considering.

Tunable and low-loss correlated plasmons in Mott-like insulating oxides

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Asmara, Teguh Citra; Wan, Dongyang; Zhao, Yongliang; Majidi, Muhammad Aziz; Nelson, Christopher T.; Scott, Mary C.; Cai, Yao; Yan, Bixing; Schmidt, Daniel; Yang, Ming; Zhu, Tao; Trevisanutto, Paolo E.; Motapothula, Mallikarjuna R.; Feng, Yuan Ping; Breese, Mark B. H.; Sherburne, Matthew; Asta, Mark; Minor, Andrew; Venkatesan, T.; Rusydi, Andrivo

2017-05-01

Plasmonics has attracted tremendous interests for its ability to confine light into subwavelength dimensions, creating novel devices with unprecedented functionalities. New plasmonic materials are actively being searched, especially those with tunable plasmons and low loss in the visible-ultraviolet range. Such plasmons commonly occur in metals, but many metals have high plasmonic loss in the optical range, a main issue in current plasmonic research. Here, we discover an anomalous form of tunable correlated plasmons in a Mott-like insulating oxide from the Sr1-xNb1-yO3+δ family. These correlated plasmons have multiple plasmon frequencies and low loss in the visible-ultraviolet range. Supported by theoretical calculations, these plasmons arise from the nanometre-spaced confinement of extra oxygen planes that enhances the unscreened Coulomb interactions among charges. The correlated plasmons are tunable: they diminish as extra oxygen plane density or film thickness decreases. Our results open a path for plasmonics research in previously untapped insulating and strongly-correlated materials.

Tunable and low-loss correlated plasmons in Mott-like insulating oxides.

PubMed

Asmara, Teguh Citra; Wan, Dongyang; Zhao, Yongliang; Majidi, Muhammad Aziz; Nelson, Christopher T; Scott, Mary C; Cai, Yao; Yan, Bixing; Schmidt, Daniel; Yang, Ming; Zhu, Tao; Trevisanutto, Paolo E; Motapothula, Mallikarjuna R; Feng, Yuan Ping; Breese, Mark B H; Sherburne, Matthew; Asta, Mark; Minor, Andrew; Venkatesan, T; Rusydi, Andrivo

2017-05-12

Plasmonics has attracted tremendous interests for its ability to confine light into subwavelength dimensions, creating novel devices with unprecedented functionalities. New plasmonic materials are actively being searched, especially those with tunable plasmons and low loss in the visible-ultraviolet range. Such plasmons commonly occur in metals, but many metals have high plasmonic loss in the optical range, a main issue in current plasmonic research. Here, we discover an anomalous form of tunable correlated plasmons in a Mott-like insulating oxide from the Sr 1-x Nb 1-y O 3+δ family. These correlated plasmons have multiple plasmon frequencies and low loss in the visible-ultraviolet range. Supported by theoretical calculations, these plasmons arise from the nanometre-spaced confinement of extra oxygen planes that enhances the unscreened Coulomb interactions among charges. The correlated plasmons are tunable: they diminish as extra oxygen plane density or film thickness decreases. Our results open a path for plasmonics research in previously untapped insulating and strongly-correlated materials.

Tunable and low-loss correlated plasmons in Mott-like insulating oxides

PubMed Central

Asmara, Teguh Citra; Wan, Dongyang; Zhao, Yongliang; Majidi, Muhammad Aziz; Nelson, Christopher T.; Scott, Mary C.; Cai, Yao; Yan, Bixing; Schmidt, Daniel; Yang, Ming; Zhu, Tao; Trevisanutto, Paolo E.; Motapothula, Mallikarjuna R.; Feng, Yuan Ping; Breese, Mark B. H.; Sherburne, Matthew; Asta, Mark; Minor, Andrew; Venkatesan, T.; Rusydi, Andrivo

2017-01-01

Plasmonics has attracted tremendous interests for its ability to confine light into subwavelength dimensions, creating novel devices with unprecedented functionalities. New plasmonic materials are actively being searched, especially those with tunable plasmons and low loss in the visible–ultraviolet range. Such plasmons commonly occur in metals, but many metals have high plasmonic loss in the optical range, a main issue in current plasmonic research. Here, we discover an anomalous form of tunable correlated plasmons in a Mott-like insulating oxide from the Sr1−xNb1−yO3+δ family. These correlated plasmons have multiple plasmon frequencies and low loss in the visible–ultraviolet range. Supported by theoretical calculations, these plasmons arise from the nanometre-spaced confinement of extra oxygen planes that enhances the unscreened Coulomb interactions among charges. The correlated plasmons are tunable: they diminish as extra oxygen plane density or film thickness decreases. Our results open a path for plasmonics research in previously untapped insulating and strongly-correlated materials. PMID:28497786

Equilibration dynamics of a many-body quantum system across the superfluid to Mott insulator phase transition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mullers, Andreas; Baals, Christian; Santra, Bodhaditya; Labouvie, Ralf; Mertz, Thomas; Dhar, Arya; Vasic, Ivana; Cichy, Agnieszka; Hofstetter, Walter; Ott, Herwig

2017-04-01

We report on the center-of-mass motion of ultracold 87Rb atoms on displacing an underlying potential. The atoms are adiabatically loaded into an optical lattice superimposed onto an optical dipole trap. The CO2 laser beam forming the dipole trap is then shifted by 1 μm which forces the system out of equilibrium. The subsequent motion of the atoms center-of mass is imaged with a scanning electron microscope for various depths of the optical lattice spanning the superfluid to Mott-insulator phase transition. The observed dynamics range from fast oscillations in the superfluid regime to a steady exponential movement towards the new equilibrium position for higher lattice depths. By piecewise analysis of the system, we can also identify a thermal phase at the edges which moves with velocities in between those of the superfluid and the insulating phase. We will present the experiment and the results of theoretical modelling currently in progress.

Disentangled Cooperative Orderings in Artificial Rare-Earth Nickelates

DOE PAGES

Middey, S.; Meyers, D.; Kareev, M.; ...

2018-04-09

Coupled transitions between distinct ordered phases are important aspects behind the rich phase complexity of correlated oxides that hinder our understanding of the underlying phenomena. For this reason, fundamental control over complex transitions has become a leading motivation of the designer approach to materials. We have devised a series of new superlattices by combining a Mott insulator and a correlated metal to form ultrashort period superlattices, which allow one to disentangle the simultaneous orderings in RENiO 3. Tailoring an incommensurate heterostructure period relative to the bulk charge ordering pattern suppresses the charge order transition while preserving metal-insulator and antiferromagnetic transitions.more » Such selective decoupling of the entangled phases resolves the long-standing puzzle about the driving force behind the metal-insulator transition and points to the site-selective Mott transition as the operative mechanism. In conclusion, this designer approach emphasizes the potential of heterointerfaces for selective control of simultaneous transitions in complex materials with entwined broken symmetries.« less

Disentangled Cooperative Orderings in Artificial Rare-Earth Nickelates

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Middey, S.; Meyers, D.; Kareev, M.

Coupled transitions between distinct ordered phases are important aspects behind the rich phase complexity of correlated oxides that hinder our understanding of the underlying phenomena. For this reason, fundamental control over complex transitions has become a leading motivation of the designer approach to materials. We have devised a series of new superlattices by combining a Mott insulator and a correlated metal to form ultrashort period superlattices, which allow one to disentangle the simultaneous orderings in RENiO 3. Tailoring an incommensurate heterostructure period relative to the bulk charge ordering pattern suppresses the charge order transition while preserving metal-insulator and antiferromagnetic transitions.more » Such selective decoupling of the entangled phases resolves the long-standing puzzle about the driving force behind the metal-insulator transition and points to the site-selective Mott transition as the operative mechanism. In conclusion, this designer approach emphasizes the potential of heterointerfaces for selective control of simultaneous transitions in complex materials with entwined broken symmetries.« less

Mott-metal transition in layered perovskite iridate thin films via field-effect doping

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cheema, Suraj; Turcaud, Jeremy; Nelson, Chris; Salahuddin, Sayeef; Ramesh, Ramamoorthy

We report on electrostatic gating of spin-orbit coupled Mott insulator Sr2IrO4 (Sr214) via ferroelectric field effect doping. Field effect doping has been used to modulate electronic phenomena in emerging 2D systems and strongly correlated oxides, but 5 d systems with large spin-orbit coupling have yet to be explored. Upon switching the polarization field of ferroelectric Pb(Zr20Ti80)O3 (PZT) to the down-poled (electron-accumulation) state, temperature-dependent resistivity measurements indicate extremely metallic behavior in the ultrathin Sr214 channel. This work successfully closes the Mott gap in Sr214 in a ''clean'' doping environment free of chemical disorder, thereby strengthening the link to the isostrucutral high-Tc cuprates, as Sr214 has been predicted to host d-wave superconductivity upon electron doping the parent antiferromagnetic insulating phase. Furthermore, the metallic behavior in Sr214 persists for thickness beyond the expected screening length, suggestive of a collective carrier delocalization mechanism. Electrostatically doped carriers prove to be a useful method for tuning the competition between spin-orbit and Coulomb interactions in order to trigger novel phase transitions, such as the Mott-metal crossover. This work was supported by the Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, of the U.S. Department of Energy, under Contract No. DE-AC02-05CH11231.

Phase diagram of Ba 2 NaOsO 6, a Mott insulator with strong spin orbit interactions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, W.; Cong, R.; Garcia, E.; Reyes, A. P.; Lee, H. O.; Fisher, I. R.; Mitrović, V. F.

2018-05-01

We report 23Na nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) measurements of the Mott insulator with strong spin-orbit interaction Ba2NaOsO6 as a function of temperature in different magnetic fields ranging from 7 T to 29 T. The measurements, intended to concurrently probe spin and orbital/lattice degrees of freedom, are an extension of our work at lower fields reported in Lu et al. (2017) [1]. We have identified clear quantitative NMR signatures that display the appearance of a canted ferromagnetic phase, which is preceded by local point symmetry breaking. We have compiled the field temperature phase diagram extending up to 29 T. We find that the broken local point symmetry phase extends over a wider temperature range as magnetic field increases.

Probing the Bond Order Wave Phase Transitions of the Ionic Hubbard Model by Superlattice Modulation Spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Loida, Karla; Bernier, Jean-Sébastien; Citro, Roberta; Orignac, Edmond; Kollath, Corinna

2017-12-01

An exotic phase, the bond order wave, characterized by the spontaneous dimerization of the hopping, has been predicted to exist sandwiched between the band and Mott insulators in systems described by the ionic Hubbard model. Despite growing theoretical evidence, this phase still evades experimental detection. Given the recent realization of the ionic Hubbard model in ultracold atomic gases, we propose here to detect the bond order wave using superlattice modulation spectroscopy. We demonstrate, with the help of time-dependent density-matrix renormalization group and bosonization, that this spectroscopic approach reveals characteristics of both the Ising and Kosterlitz-Thouless transitions signaling the presence of the bond order wave phase. This scheme also provides insights into the excitation spectra of both the band and Mott insulators.

Engineering correlation effects via artificially designed oxide superlattices.

PubMed

Chen, Hanghui; Millis, Andrew J; Marianetti, Chris A

2013-09-13

Ab initio calculations are used to predict that a superlattice composed of layers of LaTiO3 and LaNiO3 alternating along the [001] direction is a S=1 Mott insulator with large magnetic moments on the Ni sites, negligible moments on the Ti sites and a charge transfer gap set by the energy difference between Ni d and Ti d states, distinct from conventional Mott insulators. Correlation effects are enhanced on the Ni sites via filling the oxygen p states and reducing the Ni-O-Ni bond angle. Small hole (electron) doping of the superlattice leads to a two-dimensional single-band situation with holes (electrons) residing on the Ni d(x2-y2) (Ti d(xy)) orbital and coupled to antiferromagnetically correlated spins in the NiO2 layer.

Engineering Correlation Effects via Artificially Designed Oxide Superlattices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Hanghui; Millis, Andrew J.; Marianetti, Chris A.

2013-09-01

Ab initio calculations are used to predict that a superlattice composed of layers of LaTiO3 and LaNiO3 alternating along the [001] direction is a S=1 Mott insulator with large magnetic moments on the Ni sites, negligible moments on the Ti sites and a charge transfer gap set by the energy difference between Ni d and Ti d states, distinct from conventional Mott insulators. Correlation effects are enhanced on the Ni sites via filling the oxygen p states and reducing the Ni-O-Ni bond angle. Small hole (electron) doping of the superlattice leads to a two-dimensional single-band situation with holes (electrons) residing on the Ni dx2-y2 (Ti dxy) orbital and coupled to antiferromagnetically correlated spins in the NiO2 layer.

Two-Magnon Raman Scattering and Pseudospin-Lattice Interactions in Sr_{2}IrO_{4} and Sr_{3}Ir_{2}O_{7}.

PubMed

Gretarsson, H; Sung, N H; Höppner, M; Kim, B J; Keimer, B; Le Tacon, M

2016-04-01

We have used Raman scattering to investigate the magnetic excitations and lattice dynamics in the prototypical spin-orbit Mott insulators Sr_{2}IrO_{4} and Sr_{3}Ir_{2}O_{7}. Both compounds exhibit pronounced two-magnon Raman scattering features with different energies, line shapes, and temperature dependencies, which in part reflect the different influence of long-range frustrating exchange interactions. Additionally, we find strong Fano asymmetries in the line shapes of low-energy phonon modes in both compounds, which disappear upon cooling below the antiferromagnetic ordering temperatures. These unusual phonon anomalies indicate that the spin-orbit coupling in Mott-insulating iridates is not sufficiently strong to quench the orbital dynamics in the paramagnetic state.

Two-Magnon Scattering in Spin-Orbital Mott Insulator Ba2IrO4

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tsuda, Shunsuke; Okabe, Hirotaka; Isobe, Masaaki; Uji, Shinya

2016-02-01

A spin-orbit induced Mott insulator Ba2IrO4 with the pseudo-spin Jeff = 1/2, showing an antiferromagnetic order (TN = 240 K), has been investigated by Raman spectroscopy. A broad peak with the B1g symmetry is found in a wide temperature region up to 400 K, which is ascribed to the two-magnon scattering. From the peak position and width, the exchange coupling and the antiferromagnetic correlation length are estimated to be 590 cm-1 and 45 Å at 90 K, respectively. The results are compared with the antiferromagnet La2CuO4 with the spin S = 1/2. We conclude that there is no significant difference in the short wavelength spin-excitation between the S = 1/2 and Jeff = 1/2 systems.

Analytical slave-spin mean-field approach to orbital selective Mott insulators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Komijani, Yashar; Kotliar, Gabriel

2017-09-01

We use the slave-spin mean-field approach to study particle-hole symmetric one- and two-band Hubbard models in the presence of Hund's coupling interaction. By analytical analysis of the Hamiltonian, we show that the locking of the two orbitals vs orbital selective Mott transition can be formulated within a Landau-Ginzburg framework. By applying the slave-spin mean field to impurity problems, we are able to make a correspondence between impurity and lattice. We also consider the stability of the orbital selective Mott phase to the hybridization between the orbitals and study the limitations of the slave-spin method for treating interorbital tunnelings in the case of multiorbital Bethe lattices with particle-hole symmetry.

Mott criticality and multiferroicity in organic κ-(BEDT-TTF)2X salts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lang, Michael

2014-03-01

Layered organic charge-transfer (CT) salts of the κ-(BEDT-TTF)2X family show a wealth of electronic phases resulting from the interplay of strong electron-electron correlations, reduced dimensions and magnetic frustration. Of particular interest has been the bandwidth-controlled Mott transition, separating an antiferromagnetic (afm) insulating state from a correlated metallic and superconducting state. Whereas the hydrogenated X = Cu[N(CN)2]Br salt is located on the metallic side, the deuterated variant, denoted κ-D8, is situated in splitting distance to the Mott transition, enabling the s-shaped transition line TMI to be crossed via temperature sweeps. The talk will address the following aspects: 1) Thermal expansion measurements on single crystalline κ-D8 reveal discontinuous changes of the lattice parameters on crossing the Mott transition line and a huge anomaly close to the second-order critical end point of TMI. By elaborating on a scaling theory, we found that (i) the latter effect is a consequence of an almost divergence of the Grüneisen parameter Γ at the finite- T critical end point, and (ii) that the expansivity data of are in excellent agreement with the Mott criticality lying within the 2D Ising universality class, at variance with results from conductivity measurements. Thermal expansion measurements under Helium-gas pressure are underway for providing thermodynamic information at variable pressure. 2) Surprisingly, for the isostructural X = Cu[N(CN)2]Cl salt, located close to the Mott transition on the insulating side, we found that besides the well-established afm order at TN ~ 27 K, the system also reveals a ferroelectric transition at TFE, making this material the first multiferroic CT salt. Most remarkably, the measurements reveal TFE ~TN , suggesting a close interrelation between both types of ferroic order. Work was supported by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft through the Collaborative Research Centers TRR 49 and TRR 80.

Superfluid-insulator transition in a disordered two-dimensional quantum rotor model with random on-site interactions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

An, Taeyang; Cha, Min-Chul

2013-03-01

We study the superfluid-insulator quantum phase transition in a disordered two-dimensional quantum rotor model with random on-site interactions in the presence of particle-hole symmetry. Via worm-algorithm Monte Carlo calculations of superfluid density and compressibility, we find the dynamical critical exponent z ~ 1 . 13 (2) and the correlation length critical exponent 1 / ν ~ 1 . 1 (1) . These exponents suggest that the insulating phase is a incompressible Mott glass rather than a Bose glass.

Strong lattice correlation of non-equilibrium quasiparticles in a pseudospin-1/2 Mott insulator Sr 2IrO 4

DOE PAGES

Li, Yuelin; Schaller, Richard D.; Zhu, Mengze; ...

2016-01-20

In correlated oxides the coupling of quasiparticles to other degrees of freedom such as spin and lattice plays critical roles in the emergence of symmetry-breaking quantum ordered states such as high temperature superconductivity. We report a strong lattice coupling of photon-induced quasiparticles in spin-orbital coupling Mott insulator Sr 2IrO 4 probed via optical excitation. Combining time-resolved x-ray diffraction and optical spectroscopy techniques, we reconstruct a spatiotemporal map of the diffusion of these quasiparticles. Lastly, due to the unique electronic configuration of the quasiparticles, the strong lattice correlation is unexpected but extends the similarity between Sr 2IrO 4 and cuprates tomore » a new dimension of electron-phonon coupling which persists under highly non-equilibrium conditions.« less

Evidence for a quantum dipole liquid state in an organic quasi-two-dimensional material.

PubMed

Hassan, Nora; Cunningham, Streit; Mourigal, Martin; Zhilyaeva, Elena I; Torunova, Svetlana A; Lyubovskaya, Rimma N; Schlueter, John A; Drichko, Natalia

2018-06-08

Mott insulators are commonly pictured with electrons localized on lattice sites, with their low-energy degrees of freedom involving spins only. Here, we observe emergent charge degrees of freedom in a molecule-based Mott insulator κ-(BEDT-TTF) 2 Hg(SCN) 2 Br, resulting in a quantum dipole liquid state. Electrons localized on molecular dimer lattice sites form electric dipoles that do not order at low temperatures and fluctuate with frequency detected experimentally in our Raman spectroscopy experiments. The heat capacity and Raman scattering response are consistent with a scenario in which the composite spin and electric dipole degrees of freedom remain fluctuating down to the lowest measured temperatures. Copyright © 2018 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works.

Spin Andreev-like Reflection in Metal-Mott Insulator Heterostructures

DOE PAGES

Al-Hassanieh, K. A.; Rincón, Julián; Alvarez, G.; ...

2015-02-09

Here we used the time-dependent density-matrix renormalization group (tDMRG) to study the time evolution of electron wave packets in one-dimensional (1D) metal-superconductor heterostructures. The results show Andreev reflection at the interface, as expected. By combining these results with the well-known single- spin-species electron-hole transformation in the Hubbard model, we predict an analogous spin Andreev reflection in metal-Mott insulator heterostructures. This effect is numerically confirmed using 1D tDMRG, but it is expected to also be present in higher dimensions, as well as in more general Hamiltonians. We present an intuitive picture of the spin reflection, analogous to that of Andreev reflectionmore » at metal- superconductor interfaces. This allows us to discuss a novel antiferromagnetic proximity effect. Possible experimental realizations are discussed.« less

Electronic localization in an extreme 1-D conductor: the organic salt (TTDM-TTF) [Au(mnt)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lopes, E. B.; Alves, H.; Ribera, E.; Mas-Torrent, M.; Auban-Senzier, P.; Canadell, E.; Henriques, R. T.; Almeida, M.; Molins, E.; Veciana, J.; Rovira, C.; Jérome, D.

2002-09-01

This article reports the investigation of a new low-dimensional organic salt, (TTDM-TTF)2 [ Au(mnt)2] , by single crystal X-ray diffraction, static magnetic susceptibility, EPR, thermopower, electrical resistivity measurements under pressure up to 25 kbar and band structure calculations. The crystal structure consists in a dimerized head to tail stacking of TTDM-TTF molecules separated by layers of orthogonal Au(mnt)2 anions. The absence of overlap between neighboring chains coming from this particular crystal structure leads to an extreme one-dimensionality (1-D) for which the carriers of the half-filled conduction band become strongly localized in a Mott-Hubbard insulating state. This material is the first 1-D conductor in which the Mott-Hubbard insulating character cannot be suppressed under pressure.

Mott physics beyond the Brinkman-Rice scenario

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wysokiński, Marcin M.; Fabrizio, Michele

2017-04-01

The main flaw of the well-known Brinkman-Rice description, obtained through the Gutzwiller approximation, of the paramagnetic Mott transition in the Hubbard model is in neglecting high-energy virtual processes that generate, for instance, the antiferromagnetic exchange J ˜t2/U . Here, we propose a way to capture those processes by combining the Brinkman-Rice approach with a variational Schrieffer-Wolff transformation, and apply this method to study the single-band metal-to-insulator transition in a Bethe lattice with infinite coordination number, where the Gutzwiller approximation becomes exact. We indeed find for the Mott transition a description very close to the real one provided by the dynamical mean-field theory, an encouraging result in view of possible applications to more involved models.

Evidence of Mott physics in iron pnictides from x-ray spectroscopy

DOE PAGES

Lafuerza, S.; Gretarsson, H.; Hardy, F.; ...

2017-07-24

The existence of large instantaneous local magnetic moments in paramagnetic phases is a direct signature of Mott localization. In order to track the doping evolution of fluctuating local moments in iron-based superconductors, we jointly use two fast probes, x-ray emission and absorption spectroscopies. Exploring K- and Cr-hole-doped BaF e 2 A s 2 , we also find a systematic increase in the local moment with hole-doping, in contrast with inelastic neutron scattering measurements, which suggest an opposite trend. The results support the theoretical scenario in which a Mott insulating state that would be realized for half-filled conduction bands has anmore » influence throughout the phase diagram of these iron pnictides.« less

Mott metal-insulator transition on compressible lattices.

PubMed

Zacharias, Mario; Bartosch, Lorenz; Garst, Markus

2012-10-26

The critical properties of the finite temperature Mott end point are drastically altered by a coupling to crystal elasticity, i.e., whenever it is amenable to pressure tuning. Similar as for critical piezoelectric ferroelectrics, the Ising criticality of the electronic system is preempted by an isostructural instability, and long-range shear forces suppress microscopic fluctuations. As a result, the end point is governed by Landau criticality. Its hallmark is, thus, a breakdown of Hooke's law of elasticity with a nonlinear strain-stress relation characterized by a mean-field exponent. Based on a quantitative estimate, we predict critical elasticity to dominate the temperature range ΔT*/T(c)≃8%, close to the Mott end point of κ-(BEDT-TTF)(2)X.

Breakdown of Hooke's law of elasticity at the Mott critical endpoint in an organic conductor.

PubMed

Gati, Elena; Garst, Markus; Manna, Rudra S; Tutsch, Ulrich; Wolf, Bernd; Bartosch, Lorenz; Schubert, Harald; Sasaki, Takahiko; Schlueter, John A; Lang, Michael

2016-12-01

The Mott metal-insulator transition, a paradigm of strong electron-electron correlations, has been considered as a source of intriguing phenomena. Despite its importance for a wide range of materials, fundamental aspects of the transition, such as its universal properties, are still under debate. We report detailed measurements of relative length changes Δ L / L as a function of continuously controlled helium-gas pressure P for the organic conductor κ-(BEDT-TTF) 2 Cu[N(CN) 2 ]Cl across the pressure-induced Mott transition. We observe strongly nonlinear variations of Δ L / L with pressure around the Mott critical endpoint, highlighting a breakdown of Hooke's law of elasticity. We assign these nonlinear strain-stress relations to an intimate, nonperturbative coupling of the critical electronic system to the lattice degrees of freedom. Our results are fully consistent with mean-field criticality, predicted for electrons in a compressible lattice with finite shear moduli. We argue that the Mott transition for all systems that are amenable to pressure tuning shows the universal properties of an isostructural solid-solid transition.

Breakdown of Hooke’s law of elasticity at the Mott critical endpoint in an organic conductor

PubMed Central

Gati, Elena; Garst, Markus; Manna, Rudra S.; Tutsch, Ulrich; Wolf, Bernd; Bartosch, Lorenz; Schubert, Harald; Sasaki, Takahiko; Schlueter, John A.; Lang, Michael

2016-01-01

The Mott metal-insulator transition, a paradigm of strong electron-electron correlations, has been considered as a source of intriguing phenomena. Despite its importance for a wide range of materials, fundamental aspects of the transition, such as its universal properties, are still under debate. We report detailed measurements of relative length changes ΔL/L as a function of continuously controlled helium-gas pressure P for the organic conductor κ-(BEDT-TTF)2Cu[N(CN)2]Cl across the pressure-induced Mott transition. We observe strongly nonlinear variations of ΔL/L with pressure around the Mott critical endpoint, highlighting a breakdown of Hooke’s law of elasticity. We assign these nonlinear strain-stress relations to an intimate, nonperturbative coupling of the critical electronic system to the lattice degrees of freedom. Our results are fully consistent with mean-field criticality, predicted for electrons in a compressible lattice with finite shear moduli. We argue that the Mott transition for all systems that are amenable to pressure tuning shows the universal properties of an isostructural solid-solid transition. PMID:27957540

Electronic Structure at Oxide Interfaces

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-06-01

of materials with desired correlated electron properties such as ferromagnetism with a high Curie temperature, high transition temperature...approximation and therefore the canonical Mott picture is unable to account for the insulating behavior of these materials . We resolve this apparent...the two materials . LaTiO3 shows insulating behavior with a small excitation gap set by Ti d-d transitions and a wide energy separation between Ti d

Mean-Field Scaling of the Superfluid to Mott Insulator Transition in a 2D Optical Superlattice.

PubMed

Thomas, Claire K; Barter, Thomas H; Leung, Tsz-Him; Okano, Masayuki; Jo, Gyu-Boong; Guzman, Jennie; Kimchi, Itamar; Vishwanath, Ashvin; Stamper-Kurn, Dan M

2017-09-08

The mean-field treatment of the Bose-Hubbard model predicts properties of lattice-trapped gases to be insensitive to the specific lattice geometry once system energies are scaled by the lattice coordination number z. We test this scaling directly by comparing coherence properties of ^{87}Rb gases that are driven across the superfluid to Mott insulator transition within optical lattices of either the kagome (z=4) or the triangular (z=6) geometries. The coherent fraction measured for atoms in the kagome lattice is lower than for those in a triangular lattice with the same interaction and tunneling energies. A comparison of measurements from both lattices agrees quantitatively with the scaling prediction. We also study the response of the gas to a change in lattice geometry, and observe the dynamics as a strongly interacting kagome-lattice gas is suddenly "hole doped" by introducing the additional sites of the triangular lattice.

Dynamical critical exponent of the Jaynes-Cummings-Hubbard model

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hohenadler, M.; Aichhorn, M.; Schmidt, S.

2011-10-15

An array of high-Q electromagnetic resonators coupled to qubits gives rise to the Jaynes-Cummings-Hubbard model describing a superfluid to Mott-insulator transition of lattice polaritons. From mean-field and strong-coupling expansions, the critical properties of the model are expected to be identical to the scalar Bose-Hubbard model. A recent Monte Carlo study of the superfluid density on the square lattice suggested that this does not hold for the fixed-density transition through the Mott lobe tip. Instead, mean-field behavior with a dynamical critical exponent z=2 was found. We perform large-scale quantum Monte Carlo simulations to investigate the critical behavior of the superfluid densitymore » and the compressibility. We find z=1 at the tip of the insulating lobe. Hence the transition falls in the three-dimensional XY universality class, analogous to the Bose-Hubbard model.« less

Rapid generation of Mott insulators from arrays of noncondensed atoms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sturm, M. R.; Schlosser, M.; Birkl, G.; Walser, R.

2018-06-01

We theoretically analyze a scheme for a fast adiabatic transfer of cold atoms from the atomic limit of isolated traps to a Mott insulator close to the superfluid phase. This gives access to the Bose-Hubbard physics without the need of a prior Bose-Einstein condensate. The initial state can be prepared by combining the deterministic assembly of atomic arrays with resolved Raman-sideband cooling. In the subsequent transfer the trap depth is reduced significantly. We derive conditions for the adiabaticity of this process and calculate optimal adiabatic ramp shapes. Using available experimental parameters, we estimate the impact of heating due to photon scattering and compute the fidelity of the transfer scheme. Finally, we discuss the particle number scaling behavior of the method for preparing low-entropy states. Our findings demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed scheme with state-of-the-art technology.

Mixed-pairing superconductivity in 5 d Mott insulators with antisymmetric exchange: Application to Sr2IrO4

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zare, Mohammad-Hossein; Biderang, Mehdi; Akbari, Alireza

2017-11-01

We study the symmetry of the potential superconducting order parameter in 5 d Mott insulators with an eye toward hole-doped Sr2IrO4 . Using a mean-field method, a mixed singlet-triplet superconductivity, d +p , is observed due to the antisymmetric exchange originating from a quasi-spin-orbit coupling. Our calculation on ribbon geometry shows the possible existence of the topologically protected edge states, because of the nodal structure of the superconducting gap. These edge modes are spin polarized and emerge as zero-energy flat bands, supporting a symmetry-protected Majorana state, verified by evaluation of the winding number and Z2 topological invariant. At the end, a possible experimental approach for observation of these edge states and determination of the superconducting gap symmetry is discussed based on the quasiparticle interference technique.

Two-Dimensional Jeff=1 /2 Antiferromagnetic Insulator Unraveled from Interlayer Exchange Coupling in Artificial Perovskite Iridate Superlattices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hao, Lin; Meyers, D.; Frederick, Clayton; Fabbris, Gilberto; Yang, Junyi; Traynor, Nathan; Horak, Lukas; Kriegner, Dominik; Choi, Yongseong; Kim, Jong-Woo; Haskel, Daniel; Ryan, Phil J.; Dean, M. P. M.; Liu, Jian

2017-07-01

We report an experimental investigation of the two-dimensional Jeff=1 /2 antiferromagnetic Mott insulator by varying the interlayer exchange coupling in [(SrIrO3)1 , (SrTiO3)m ] (m =1 , 2 and 3) superlattices. Although all samples exhibited an insulating ground state with long-range magnetic order, temperature-dependent resistivity measurements showed a stronger insulating behavior in the m =2 and m =3 samples than the m =1 sample which displayed a clear kink at the magnetic transition. This difference indicates that the blocking effect of the excessive SrTiO3 layer enhances the effective electron-electron correlation and strengthens the Mott phase. The significant reduction of the Néel temperature from 150 K for m =1 to 40 K for m =2 demonstrates that the long-range order stability in the former is boosted by a substantial interlayer exchange coupling. Resonant x-ray magnetic scattering revealed that the interlayer exchange coupling has a switchable sign, depending on the SrTiO3 layer number m , for maintaining canting-induced weak ferromagnetism. The nearly unaltered transition temperature between the m =2 and the m =3 demonstrated that we have realized a two-dimensional antiferromagnet at finite temperatures with diminishing interlayer exchange coupling.

Spectral evolution with doping of an antiferromagnetic Mott state

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Huan-Kuang; Lee, Ting-Kuo

2017-01-01

Since the discovery of half-filled cuprate to be a Mott insulator, the excitation spectra above the chemical potential for the unoccupied states has attracted much research attention. There were many theoretical works using different numerical techniques to study this problem, but many have reached different conclusions. One of the reasons is the lack of very detailed high-resolution experimental results for the theories to be compared with. Recently, the scanning tunneling spectroscopy [P. Cai et al., Nat. Phys. 12, 1047 (2016), 10.1038/nphys3840; C. Ye et al., Nat. Commun. 4, 1365 (2013), 10.1038/ncomms2369] on lightly doped Mott insulator with an antiferromagnetic order found the presence of in-gap states with energy of order half an eV above the chemical potential. The measured spectral properties with doping are not quite consistent with earlier theoretical works. Although the experiment has disorder and localization effect, but for the energy scale we will study here, a model without disorder is sufficed to illustrate the underlying physics. We perform a diagonalization method on top of the variational Monte Carlo calculation to study the evolution of antiferromagnetic Mott state with doped hole concentration in the Hubbard model. Our results found in-gap states that behave similarly with ones reported by STS. These in-gap states acquire a substantial amount of dynamical spectral weight transferred from the upper Hubbard band. The in-gap states move toward chemical potential with increasing spectral weight as doping increases. Our result also provides information about the energy scale of these in-gap states in relation with the Coulomb coupling strength U .

One-dimensional anyons under three-body interactions.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Silva-Valencia, Jereson; Arcila-Forero, Julian; Franco, Roberto

Anyons are a third class of particles with nontrivial exchange statistics, particles carrying fractional statistics that interpolate between bosons and fermions. In the last years, it has been made some proposals to emulate an anyon gas by confining bosonic atoms in optical lattices [ Nat. Commun. 2, 361 (2011)]. In this work, we studied the ground state of anyons interacting through local three-body terms in one-dimension, motivated by recent experimental and theoretical studies about multi-body interactions in cold atoms setups. We used the density-matrix renormalization group method to find the phase diagram and the von Neumann block entropy to determinate the critical point position. The main quantum phases found are the superfluid and the Mott insulator ones. For the statistical angle θ = π /4, the phase diagram shows that the Mott lobes are surrounded by superfluid regions, the Mott lobes increase with the density and the first Mott lobe has two anyons per site. We found that a Mott lobe with one anyon per site, it is possible for larger statistical angles, a fact that it is impossible with bosons. DIBE- Universidad Nacional de Colombia and Departamento Administrativo de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación (COLCIENCAS) (Grant No. FP44842-057-2015).

Fingerprints of spin-orbital polarons and of their disorder in the photoemission spectra of doped Mott insulators with orbital degeneracy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Avella, Adolfo; Oleś, Andrzej M.; Horsch, Peter

2018-04-01

We explore the effects of disordered charged defects on the electronic excitations observed in the photoemission spectra of doped transition metal oxides in the Mott insulating regime by the example of the R1 -xCaxVO3 perovskites, where R = La, ⋯, Lu. A fundamental characteristic of these vanadium d2 compounds with partly filled t2 g valence orbitals is the persistence of spin and orbital order up to high doping, in contrast to the loss of magnetic order in high-Tc cuprates at low defect concentration. We study the disordered electronic structure of such doped Mott-Hubbard insulators within the unrestricted Hartree-Fock approximation and, as a result, manage to explain the spectral features that occur in photoemission and inverse photoemission. In particular, (i) the atomic multiplet excitations in the inverse photoemission spectra and the various defect-related states and satellites are qualitatively well reproduced, (ii) a robust Mott gap survives up to large doping, and (iii) we show that the defect states inside the Mott gap develop a soft gap at the Fermi energy. The soft defect-states gap, which separates the highest occupied from the lowest unoccupied states, can be characterized by a shape and a scale parameter extracted from a Weibull statistical sampling of the density of states near the chemical potential. These parameters provide a criterion and a comprehensive schematization for the insulator-metal transition in disordered systems. Our results provide clear indications that doped holes are bound to charged defects and form small spin-orbital polarons whose internal kinetic energy is responsible for the opening of the soft defect-states gap. We show that this kinetic gap survives disorder fluctuations of defects and is amplified by the long-range electron-electron interactions, whereas we observe a Coulomb singularity in the atomic limit. The small size of spin-orbital polarons is inferred by an analysis of the inverse participation ratio and by means of a complementary many-body polaron theory, which yields a similar robust spin and orbital order as the Hartree-Fock approximation. Using realistic parameters for the vanadium perovskite La1 -xCaxVO3 , we show that its soft gap is reproduced as well as the marginal doping dependence of the position of the chemical potential relative to the center of the lower Hubbard band. The present theory uncovers also the reasons why the d1→d0 satellite excitations, which directly probe the effect of the random defect fields on the polaron state, are not well resolved in the available experimental photoemission spectra for La1 -xCaxVO3 .

Correlated Electrons in Carbon Nanotubes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Odintsov, Arkadi A.; Yoshioka, Hideo

Single-wall carbon nanotubes are almost ideal systems for the investigation of exotic many-body effects due to non-Fermi liquid behavior of interacting electrons in one dimension. Recent theoretical and experimental results are reviewed with a focus on electron correlations. Starting from a microscopic lattice model we derive an effective phase Hamiltonian for conducting single-wall nanotubes with arbitrary chirality. The parameters of the Hamiltonian show very weak dependence on the chiral angle, which makes the low-energy physics of conducting nanotubes universal. The temperature-dependent resistivity and frequency-dependent optical conductivity of nanotubes with impurities are evaluated within the Luttinger-like model. Localization effects are studied. In particular, we found that intra-valley and inter-valley electron scattering can not coexist at low energies. Low-energy properties of clean nanotubes are studied beyond the Luttinger liquid approximation. The strongest Mott-like electron instability occurs at half filling. In the Mott insulating phase electrons at different atomic sublattices form characteristic bound states. The energy gaps occur in all modes of elementary excitations and estimate at 0.01-0.1 eV. We finally discuss observability of the Mott insulating phase in transport experiments. The accent is made on the charge transfer from external electrodes which results in a deviation of the electron density from half-filling.

Magnetically driven metal-insulator transition in NaOsO3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Calder, Stuart

2013-03-01

The metal-insulator transition (MIT) is one of the most dramatic manifestations of electron correlations in materials, enjoying interest both for its fundamental nature and technological application. Various mechanisms producing MITs have been extensively considered over the years, including the Mott (electron localization via Coulomb repulsion), Anderson (localization via disorder) and Peierls (localization via distortion of a periodic one-dimensional lattice). One additional route to a MIT proposed by Slater in 1951, in which long-range magnetic order in a three dimensional system drives the MIT, has received relatively little attention, particularly from an experimental viewpoint. Using neutron and x-ray scattering we have shown that the MIT in NaOsO3 is coincident with the onset of long-range commensurate magnetic order at 410 K. Whilst candidate materials have been suggested, our experimental methodology allows the first definitive demonstration of the long predicted Slater MIT. We discuss our results in light of recent work on other 5d systems that contrastingly have been predicted to host a Mott spin-orbit insulating state. Work was supported by the Scientific User Facilities Division, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).

Evolution of ferromagnetism in two-dimensional electron gas of LaTiO3/SrTiO3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wen, Fangdi; Cao, Yanwei; Liu, Xiaoran; Pal, B.; Middey, S.; Kareev, M.; Chakhalian, J.

2018-03-01

Understanding, creating, and manipulating spin polarization of two-dimensional electron gases at complex oxide interfaces present an experimental challenge. For example, despite almost a decade long research effort, the microscopic origin of ferromagnetism in LaAlO3/SrTiO3 heterojunctions is still an open question. Here, by using a prototypical two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) which emerges at the interface between band insulator SrTiO3 and antiferromagnetic Mott insulator LaTiO3, the experiment reveals the evidence for magnetic phase separation in a hole-doped Ti d1 t2g system, resulting in spin-polarized 2DEG. The details of electronic and magnetic properties of the 2DEG were investigated by temperature-dependent d.c. transport, angle-dependent X-ray photoemission spectroscopy, and temperature-dependent magnetoresistance. The observation of clear hysteresis in magnetotransport at low magnetic fields implies spin-polarization from magnetic islands in the hole rich LaTiO3 near the interface. These findings emphasize the role of magnetic instabilities in doped Mott insulators, thus providing another path for designing all-oxide structures relevant to spintronic applications.

What is the origin of anomalous dielectric response in 2D organic dimer Mott insulators κ-(BEDT-TTF)2Cu[N(CN)2]Cl and κ-(BEDT-TTF)2Cu2(CN)3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pinterić, M.; Ivek, T.; Čulo, M.; Milat, O.; Basletić, M.; Korin-Hamzić, B.; Tafra, E.; Hamzić, A.; Dressel, M.; Tomić, S.

2015-03-01

Novel forms of the low-temperature phases in the two-dimensional molecular solids with competing interactions between charges, spins and lattice, in particular those featuring anomalous dielectric relaxation, have been the focus of intense activity in recent years. Open issues concern the nature of collective charge excitations as well as their coupling to applied ac and dc electric fields. The charge response is reasonably well understood by now in the charge-ordered phase with the formation of ferroelectric-like domains below the metal-to-insulator phase transition. Conversely, the dielectric response observed in dimer Mott insulator phases with no complete evidence for charge ordering is rather intriguing. We overview our recent results of anisotropic complex conductivity (dc - MHz) in the magnetic phase of κ-(BEDT - TTF) 2 Cu [ N(CN)2 ] Cl and in the spin-liquid phase of κ-(BEDT - TTF) 2Cu2(CN)3. We discuss possible explanations for the observed dynamics within current theoretical models and compare them with the well-known fingerprints of the spin density wave response to ac electric fields.

Topological magnetic phase in LaMnO3 (111) bilayer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weng, Yakui; Huang, Xin; Yao, Yugui; Dong, Shuai

Candidates for correlated topological insulators, originated from the spin-orbit coupling as well as Hubbard type correlation, are expected in the (111) bilayer of perovskite-structural transition-metal oxides. Based on the first-principles calculation and tight-binding model, the electronic structure of a LaMnO3 (111) bilayer sandwiched in LaScO3 barriers has been investigated. For the ideal undistorted perovskite structure, the Fermi energy of LaMnO3 (111) bilayer just stays at the Dirac point, rendering a semi-metal (graphene-like) which is also a half-metal (different from graphene nor previous studied LaNiO3 (111) bilayer). The Dirac cone can be opened by the spin-orbit coupling, giving rise to nontrivial topological bands corresponding to the (quantized) anomalous Hall effect. For the realistic orthorhombic distorted lattice, the Dirac point moves with increasing Hubbard repulsion (or equivalent Jahn-Teller distortion). Finally, a Mott gap opens, establishing a phase boundary between the Mott insulator and topological magnetic insulator. Our calculation finds that the gap opened by spin-orbit coupling is much smaller in the orthorhombic distorted lattice (~ 1 . 7 meV) than the undistorted one (~11 meV).

Two-dimensional Anderson-Hubbard model in the DMFT + {Sigma} approximation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kuchinskii, E. Z., E-mail: kuchinsk@iep.uran.ru; Kuleeva, N. A.; Nekrasov, I. A.

The density of states, the dynamic (optical) conductivity, and the phase diagram of the paramagnetic two-dimensional Anderson-Hubbard model with strong correlations and disorder are analyzed within the generalized dynamical mean field theory (DMFT + {Sigma} approximation). Strong correlations are accounted by the DMFT, while disorder is taken into account via the appropriate generalization of the self-consistent theory of localization. We consider the two-dimensional system with the rectangular 'bare' density of states (DOS). The DMFT effective single-impurity problem is solved by numerical renormalization group (NRG). The 'correlated metal,' Mott insulator, and correlated Anderson insulator phases are identified from the evolution ofmore » the density of states, optical conductivity, and localization length, demonstrating both Mott-Hubbard and Anderson metal-insulator transitions in two-dimensional systems of finite size, allowing us to construct the complete zero-temperature phase diagram of the paramagnetic Anderson-Hubbard model. The localization length in our approximation is practically independent of the strength of Hubbard correlations. But the divergence of the localization length in a finite-size two-dimensional system at small disorder signifies the existence of an effective Anderson transition.« less

Two-Dimensional J eff = 1 / 2 Antiferromagnetic Insulator Unraveled from Interlayer Exchange Coupling in Artificial Perovskite Iridate Superlattices

DOE PAGES

Hao, Lin; Meyers, D.; Frederick, Clayton; ...

2017-07-14

We report an experimental investigation of the two-dimensional J eff=1/2 antiferromagnetic Mott insulator by varying the interlayer exchange coupling in [(SrIrO 3) 1, (SrTiO 3) m] (m=1, 2 and 3) superlattices. Although all samples exhibited an insulating ground state with long-range magnetic order, temperature-dependent resistivity measurements showed a stronger insulating behavior in the m = 2 and m = 3 samples than the m = 1 sample which displayed a clear kink at the magnetic transition. This difference indicates that the blocking effect of the excessive SrTiO 3 layer enhances the effective electron-electron correlation and strengthens the Mott phase. Themore » significant reduction of the Néel temperature from 150 K for m = 1 to 40 K for m = 2 demonstrates that the long-range order stability in the former is boosted by a substantial interlayer exchange coupling. Resonant x-ray magnetic scattering revealed that the interlayer exchange coupling has a switchable sign, depending on the SrTiO 3 layer number m, for maintaining canting-induced weak ferromagnetism. In conclusion, the nearly unaltered transition temperature between the m = 2 and the m = 3 demonstrated that we have realized a two-dimensional antiferromagnet at finite temperatures with diminishing interlayer exchange coupling.« less

Two-Dimensional J eff = 1 / 2 Antiferromagnetic Insulator Unraveled from Interlayer Exchange Coupling in Artificial Perovskite Iridate Superlattices

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hao, Lin; Meyers, D.; Frederick, Clayton

We report an experimental investigation of the two-dimensional J eff=1/2 antiferromagnetic Mott insulator by varying the interlayer exchange coupling in [(SrIrO 3) 1, (SrTiO 3) m] (m=1, 2 and 3) superlattices. Although all samples exhibited an insulating ground state with long-range magnetic order, temperature-dependent resistivity measurements showed a stronger insulating behavior in the m = 2 and m = 3 samples than the m = 1 sample which displayed a clear kink at the magnetic transition. This difference indicates that the blocking effect of the excessive SrTiO 3 layer enhances the effective electron-electron correlation and strengthens the Mott phase. Themore » significant reduction of the Néel temperature from 150 K for m = 1 to 40 K for m = 2 demonstrates that the long-range order stability in the former is boosted by a substantial interlayer exchange coupling. Resonant x-ray magnetic scattering revealed that the interlayer exchange coupling has a switchable sign, depending on the SrTiO 3 layer number m, for maintaining canting-induced weak ferromagnetism. In conclusion, the nearly unaltered transition temperature between the m = 2 and the m = 3 demonstrated that we have realized a two-dimensional antiferromagnet at finite temperatures with diminishing interlayer exchange coupling.« less

Reliability of the one-crossing approximation in describing the Mott transition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vildosola, V.; Pourovskii, L. V.; Manuel, L. O.; Roura-Bas, P.

2015-12-01

We assess the reliability of the one-crossing approximation (OCA) approach in a quantitative description of the Mott transition in the framework of the dynamical mean field theory (DMFT). The OCA approach has been applied in conjunction with DMFT to a number of heavy-fermion, actinide, transition metal compounds and nanoscale systems. However, several recent studies in the framework of impurity models pointed out serious deficiencies of OCA and raised questions regarding its reliability. Here we consider a single band Hubbard model on the Bethe lattice at finite temperatures and compare the results of OCA to those of a numerically exact quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) method. The temperature-local repulsion U phase diagram for the particle-hole symmetric case obtained by OCA is in good agreement with that of QMC, with the metal-insulator transition captured very well. We find, however, that the insulator to metal transition is shifted to higher values of U and, simultaneously, correlations in the metallic phase are significantly overestimated. This counter-intuitive behaviour is due to simultaneous underestimations of the Kondo scale in the metallic phase and the size of the insulating gap. We trace the underestimation of the insulating gap to that of the second moment of the high-frequency expansion of the impurity spectral density. Calculations of the system away from the particle-hole symmetric case are also presented and discussed.

The t J model for the oxide high-Tc superconductors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ogata, Masao; Fukuyama, Hidetoshi

2008-03-01

A theoretical review is given on high temperature superconductivity in copper oxides (cuprates) by focusing on the hole doping cases based on the view that it is realized in carrier doped Mott insulators, as noted by Anderson in the initial stage. From the detailed knowledge of electronic states deduced from experiments that showed the undoped parent case is Mott insulators (charge transfer type insulators, to be precise) and that the hole doping is mainly on oxygen sites, the t-J model, as derived by Zhang and Rice, is shown to be a canonical model for hole doped cuprates and values of various parameters of the model have been assessed. Results of many different numerical methods so far obtained for this t-J model, especially the variational Monte Carlo method, have clearly indicated the stability of the \\rmd_{x^2-y^2} -wave superconductivity at absolute zero for the parameter region of actual experimental interest and the particular doping dependences of the condensation energy of superconductivity reflecting particular features of doped Mott insulators. For finite temperatures, on the other hand, the field theoretical slave-boson approximation based on the spin (spinons) and charge (holons) separations and the gauge fields as a glue combining them predicts qualitatively particular features of the existence of characteristic crossover temperatures of the spin singlet of the resonating valence bond (RVB) state, TRVB and the onset of Bose condensation of holons, TB, triggering coherent motion of electrons as convoluted particles of spinons and holons. The considerations based on the gauge field indicate that the onset temperature of superconductivity, Tc, is the lower one of these two, i.e. either TB (overdoped cases) or TRVB (underdoped cases), respectively. These characteristic features of the 'phase diagram' at finite temperatures are in overall agreement with various experimental observations, especially with the existence of spin-gap or pseudo-gap phases. In more detailed examinations of the underdoped region, the antiferromagnetic long-range order and superconductivity show a very intricate relationship at low temperatures depending on the system; they coexist as clarified in the inner layer of Hg-1245 but spin glass states intervene between them in La2-xSrxCuO4 (LSCO). It is argued that these differences can be attributed to the different degrees of disorder. Actually, theories based on the t-J model have also predicted the coexistence of antiferromagnetism and superconductivity in the ground state of clean systems. On the other hand, interesting experimental findings of large Nernst effect and 'Fermi arc' in LSCO and impurity effects in YBCO have prompted the necessity of theoretical investigations of electronic states of lightly doped Mott insulators in the presence of strong disorder.

Physical origins of current and temperature controlled negative differential resistances in NbO 2

DOE PAGES

Kumar, Suhas; Wang, Ziwen; Davila, Noraica; ...

2017-09-22

Negative differential resistance behavior in oxide memristors, especially those using NbO 2, is gaining renewed interest because of its potential utility in neuromorphic computing. However, there has been a decade-long controversy over whether the negative differential resistance is caused by a relatively low-temperature non-linear transport mechanism or a high-temperature Mott transition. Resolving this issue will enable consistent and robust predictive modeling of this phenomenon for different applications. Here in this paper, we examine NbO 2 memristors that exhibit both a current-controlled and a temperature-controlled negative differential resistance. Through thermal and chemical spectromicroscopy and numerical simulations, we confirm that the formermore » is caused by a ~400 K non-linear-transport-driven instability and the latter is caused by the ~1000 K Mott metal-insulator transition, for which the thermal conductance counter-intuitively decreases in the metallic state relative to the insulating state.« less

Nonlocal correlations in the orbital selective Mott phase of a one-dimensional multiorbital Hubbard model

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Li, S.; Kaushal, N.; Wang, Y.

Here, we study nonlocal correlations in a three-orbital Hubbard model defined on an extended one-dimensional chain using determinant quantum Monte Carlo and density matrix renormalization group methods. We focus on a parameter regime with robust Hund's coupling, which produces an orbital selective Mott phase (OSMP) at intermediate values of the Hubbard U, as well as an orbitally ordered ferromagnetic insulating state at stronger coupling. An examination of the orbital- and spin-correlation functions indicates that the orbital ordering occurs before the onset of magnetic correlations in this parameter regime as a function of temperature. In the OSMP, we find that themore » self-energy for the itinerant electrons is momentum dependent, indicating a degree of nonlocal correlations while the localized electrons have largely momentum independent self-energies. These nonlocal correlations also produce relative shifts of the holelike and electronlike bands within our model. The overall momentum dependence of these quantities is strongly suppressed in the orbitally ordered insulating phase.« less

Observation of non-Fermi liquid behavior in hole-doped Eu2Ir2O7

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Banerjee, A.; Sannigrahi, J.; Giri, S.; Majumdar, S.

2017-12-01

The Weyl semimetallic compound Eu2Ir2O7 and its hole-doped derivatives (which are achieved by substituting trivalent Eu by divalent Sr) are investigated through transport, magnetic, and calorimetric studies. The metal-insulator transition (MIT) temperature is found to get substantially reduced with hole doping, and for 10% Sr doping the composition is metallic down to temperature as low as 5 K. These doped compositions are found to violate the Mott-Ioffe-Regel condition for minimum electrical conductivity and show a distinct signature of non-Fermi liquid behavior at low temperature. The MIT in the doped compounds does not correlate with the magnetic transition point, and Anderson-Mott-type disorder-induced localization may be attributed to the ground-state insulating phase. The observed non-Fermi liquid behavior can be understood on the basis of disorder-induced distribution of the spin-orbit-coupling parameter, which is markedly different in the case of Ir4 + and Ir5 + ions.

Nonlocal correlations in the orbital selective Mott phase of a one-dimensional multiorbital Hubbard model

DOE PAGES

Li, S.; Kaushal, N.; Wang, Y.; ...

2016-12-12

Here, we study nonlocal correlations in a three-orbital Hubbard model defined on an extended one-dimensional chain using determinant quantum Monte Carlo and density matrix renormalization group methods. We focus on a parameter regime with robust Hund's coupling, which produces an orbital selective Mott phase (OSMP) at intermediate values of the Hubbard U, as well as an orbitally ordered ferromagnetic insulating state at stronger coupling. An examination of the orbital- and spin-correlation functions indicates that the orbital ordering occurs before the onset of magnetic correlations in this parameter regime as a function of temperature. In the OSMP, we find that themore » self-energy for the itinerant electrons is momentum dependent, indicating a degree of nonlocal correlations while the localized electrons have largely momentum independent self-energies. These nonlocal correlations also produce relative shifts of the holelike and electronlike bands within our model. The overall momentum dependence of these quantities is strongly suppressed in the orbitally ordered insulating phase.« less

Engineered Mott ground state in a LaTiO3+δ/LaNiO3 heterostructure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cao, Yanwei; Liu, Xiaoran; Kareev, M.; Choudhury, D.; Middey, S.; Meyers, D.; Kim, J.-W.; Ryan, P. J.; Freeland, J. W.; Chakhalian, J.

2016-01-01

In pursuit of creating cuprate-like electronic and orbital structures, artificial heterostructures based on LaNiO3 have inspired a wealth of exciting experimental and theoretical results. However, to date there is a very limited experimental understanding of the electronic and orbital states emerging from interfacial charge transfer and their connections to the modified band structure at the interface. Towards this goal, we have synthesized a prototypical superlattice composed of a correlated metal LaNiO3 and a doped Mott insulator LaTiO3+δ, and investigated its electronic structure by resonant X-ray absorption spectroscopy combined with X-ray photoemission spectroscopy, electrical transport and theory calculations. The heterostructure exhibits interfacial charge transfer from Ti to Ni sites, giving rise to an insulating ground state with orbital polarization and eg orbital band splitting. Our findings demonstrate how the control over charge at the interface can be effectively used to create exotic electronic, orbital and spin states.

Engineered Mott ground state in a LaTiO3+δ/LaNiO3 heterostructure

PubMed Central

Cao, Yanwei; Liu, Xiaoran; Kareev, M.; Choudhury, D.; Middey, S.; Meyers, D.; Kim, J.-W.; Ryan, P. J.; Freeland, J.W.; Chakhalian, J.

2016-01-01

In pursuit of creating cuprate-like electronic and orbital structures, artificial heterostructures based on LaNiO3 have inspired a wealth of exciting experimental and theoretical results. However, to date there is a very limited experimental understanding of the electronic and orbital states emerging from interfacial charge transfer and their connections to the modified band structure at the interface. Towards this goal, we have synthesized a prototypical superlattice composed of a correlated metal LaNiO3 and a doped Mott insulator LaTiO3+δ, and investigated its electronic structure by resonant X-ray absorption spectroscopy combined with X-ray photoemission spectroscopy, electrical transport and theory calculations. The heterostructure exhibits interfacial charge transfer from Ti to Ni sites, giving rise to an insulating ground state with orbital polarization and eg orbital band splitting. Our findings demonstrate how the control over charge at the interface can be effectively used to create exotic electronic, orbital and spin states. PMID:26791402

Anderson localization and Mott insulator phase in the time domain

PubMed Central

Sacha, Krzysztof

2015-01-01

Particles in space periodic potentials constitute standard models for investigation of crystalline phenomena in solid state physics. Time periodicity of periodically driven systems is a close analogue of space periodicity of solid state crystals. There is an intriguing question if solid state phenomena can be observed in the time domain. Here we show that wave-packets localized on resonant classical trajectories of periodically driven systems are ideal elements to realize Anderson localization or Mott insulator phase in the time domain. Uniform superpositions of the wave-packets form stationary states of a periodically driven particle. However, an additional perturbation that fluctuates in time results in disorder in time and Anderson localization effects emerge. Switching to many-particle systems we observe that depending on how strong particle interactions are, stationary states can be Bose-Einstein condensates or single Fock states where definite numbers of particles occupy the periodically evolving wave-packets. Our study shows that non-trivial crystal-like phenomena can be observed in the time domain. PMID:26074169

Competing phases and orbital-selective behaviors in the two-orbital Hubbard-Holstein model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Shaozhi; Khatami, Ehsan; Johnston, Steven

2017-03-01

We study the interplay between the electron-electron (e-e) and the electron-phonon (e-ph) interactions in the two-orbital Hubbard-Holstein model at half-filling using the dynamical mean-field theory. We find that the e-ph interaction, even at weak couplings, strongly modifies the phase diagram of this model and introduces an orbital-selective Peierls insulating phase (OSPI) that is analogous to the widely studied orbital-selective Mott phase (OSMP). At small e-e and e-ph couplings, we find a competition between the OSMP and the OSPI, while at large couplings, a competition occurs between Mott and charge-density-wave (CDW) insulating phases. We further demonstrate that the Hund's coupling influences the OSPI transition by lowering the energy associated with the CDW. Our results explicitly show that one must be cautious when neglecting the e-ph interaction in multiorbital systems, where multiple electronic interactions create states that are readily influenced by perturbing interactions.

Engineered Mott ground state in a LaTiO 3+δ/LaNiO 3 heterostructure

DOE PAGES

Cao, Yanwei; Liu, Xiaoran; Kareev, M.; ...

2016-01-21

In pursuit of creating cuprate-like electronic and orbital structures, artificial heterostructures based on LaNiO 3 have inspired a wealth of exciting experimental and theoretical results. However, to date there is a very limited experimental understanding of the electronic and orbital states emerging from interfacial charge transfer and their connections to the modified band structure at the interface. Towards this goal, we have synthesized a prototypical superlattice composed of a correlated metal LaNiO 3 and a doped Mott insulator LaTiO 3+δ, and investigated its electronic structure by resonant X-ray absorption spectroscopy combined with X-ray photoemission spectroscopy, electrical transport and theory calculations.more » The heterostructure exhibits interfacial charge transfer from Ti to Ni sites, giving rise to an insulating ground state with orbital polarization and e g orbital band splitting. Here, our findings demonstrate how the control over charge at the interface can be effectively used to create exotic electronic, orbital and spin states.« less

Physical origins of current and temperature controlled negative differential resistances in NbO 2

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kumar, Suhas; Wang, Ziwen; Davila, Noraica

Negative differential resistance behavior in oxide memristors, especially those using NbO 2, is gaining renewed interest because of its potential utility in neuromorphic computing. However, there has been a decade-long controversy over whether the negative differential resistance is caused by a relatively low-temperature non-linear transport mechanism or a high-temperature Mott transition. Resolving this issue will enable consistent and robust predictive modeling of this phenomenon for different applications. Here in this paper, we examine NbO 2 memristors that exhibit both a current-controlled and a temperature-controlled negative differential resistance. Through thermal and chemical spectromicroscopy and numerical simulations, we confirm that the formermore » is caused by a ~400 K non-linear-transport-driven instability and the latter is caused by the ~1000 K Mott metal-insulator transition, for which the thermal conductance counter-intuitively decreases in the metallic state relative to the insulating state.« less

Transient carrier dynamics in a Mott insulator with antiferromagnetic order

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Iyoda, Eiki; Ishihara, Sumio

2014-03-01

We study transient dynamics of hole carriers injected into a Mott insulator with antiferromagnetic long-range order. This "dynamical hole doping" contrasts with chemical hole doping. The theoretical framework for the transient carrier dynamics is presented based on the two-dimensional t-J model. The time dependencies of the optical conductivity spectra, as well as the one-particle excitation spectra, are calculated based on the Keldysh Green's function formalism at zero temperature combined with the self-consistent Born approximation. In the early stage after dynamical hole doping, the Drude component appears, and then incoherent components originating from hole-magnon scattering start to grow. Fast oscillatory behavior owing to coherent magnon and slow relaxation dynamics are confirmed in the spectra. The time profiles are interpreted as doped bare holes being dressed by magnon clouds and relaxed into spin polaron quasiparticle states. The characteristic relaxation times for Drude and incoherent peaks strongly depend on the momentum of the dynamically doped hole and the exchange constant. Implications for recent pump-probe experiments are discussed.

Dynamics of the quantum phase transition in the one-dimensional Bose-Hubbard model: Excitations and correlations induced by a quench

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gardas, Bartłomiej; Dziarmaga, Jacek; Zurek, Wojciech H.

The ground state of the one-dimensional Bose-Hubbard model at unit filling undergoes the Mott-superfluid quantum phase transition. It belongs to the Kosterlitz-Thouless universality class with an exponential divergence of the correlation length in place of the usual power law. Here, we present numerical simulations of a linear quench both from the Mott insulator to superfluid and back. The results satisfy the scaling hypothesis that follows from the Kibble-Zurek mechanism (KZM). In the superfluid-to-Mott quenches there is no significant excitation in the superfluid phase despite its gaplessness. And since all critical superfluid ground states are qualitatively similar, the excitation begins tomore » build up only after crossing the critical point when the ground state begins to change fundamentally. The last process falls into the KZM framework.« less

Dynamics of the quantum phase transition in the one-dimensional Bose-Hubbard model: Excitations and correlations induced by a quench

DOE PAGES

Gardas, Bartłomiej; Dziarmaga, Jacek; Zurek, Wojciech H.

2017-03-24

The ground state of the one-dimensional Bose-Hubbard model at unit filling undergoes the Mott-superfluid quantum phase transition. It belongs to the Kosterlitz-Thouless universality class with an exponential divergence of the correlation length in place of the usual power law. Here, we present numerical simulations of a linear quench both from the Mott insulator to superfluid and back. The results satisfy the scaling hypothesis that follows from the Kibble-Zurek mechanism (KZM). In the superfluid-to-Mott quenches there is no significant excitation in the superfluid phase despite its gaplessness. And since all critical superfluid ground states are qualitatively similar, the excitation begins tomore » build up only after crossing the critical point when the ground state begins to change fundamentally. The last process falls into the KZM framework.« less

The role of Hund's coupling in the correlations and the nematicity of iron superconductors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bascones, Elena

Since their discovery in 2008 the strength and the nature of correlations in iron superconductors have been widely discussed. Understanding the correlations is key to unveil the nature of the superconducting, nematic and magnetic instabilities which appear in the phase diagram. Due to their multi-orbital character, correlations in iron superconductors are strongly affected by Hund's coupling and these materials have been classified by some authors as Hund metals. For a long time there has been a strong controversy on the nature of correlations induced by Hund's coupling and its relation to Mott physics. While some authors describe Hund metals as strongly correlated systems which are not in proximity to a Mott insulating state, others, have described iron superconductors as doped Mott insulators. In the talk, after some introduction, I will first show our recent results which show that while the spin polarization of the atoms, promoted by Hund's coupling induces strong correlations, this does not necessary mean that the total charge is more localized. On the contrary, in some cases this polarization promotes itinerancy. I will then present a generic framework to address the correlations in iron superconductors and discuss the role of Hund's coupling in the nematicity of iron superconductors, with special emphasis on FeSe. Funding from Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología FIS2011-29689, FIS2014-53219-P and Fundacion Ramon Areces.

Recent Topics of Organic Superconductors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ardavan, Arzhang; Brown, Stuart; Kagoshima, Seiichi; Kanoda, Kazushi; Kuroki, Kazuhiko; Mori, Hatsumi; Ogata, Masao; Uji, Shinya; Wosnitza, Jochen

2012-01-01

Recent developments in research into superconductivity in organic materials are reviewed. In the epoch-defining quasi-one-dimensional TMTSF superconductors with Tc ˜ 1 K, Tc decreases monotonically with increasing pressure, as do signatures of spin fluctuations in the normal state, providing good evidence for magnetically-mediated pairing. Upper critical fields exceed the Zeeman-limiting field by several times, suggesting triplet pairing or a transition to an inhomogeneous superconducting state at high magnetic fields, while triplet pairing is ruled out at low fields by NMR Knight-shift measurements. Evidence for a spatially inhomogeneous superconducting state, Fulde--Ferrel--Larkin--Ovchinnikov state, which has long been sought in various superconducting systems, is now captured by thermodynamic and transport measurements for clean and highly two-dimensional BEDT-TTF and BETS superconductors. Some of the layered superconductors also serve as model systems for Mott physics on anisotropic triangular lattice. For example, the Nernst effect and the pseudo-gap behavior in NMR relaxation are enhanced near to the Mott transition. In the case of increasing spin frustration, the superconducting transition temperature is depressed, and antiferromagnetic ordering is eliminated altogether in the adjacent Mott insulating phase. There is an increasing number of materials exhibiting superconductivity in competition or cooperation with charge order. Theoretical studies shed light on the role of spin and/or charge fluctuations for superconductivity appearing under conditions close to those of correlation-induced insulating phases in the diversity of organic materials.

Metal insulator transitions in perovskite SrIrO{sub 3} thin films

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Biswas, Abhijit; Jeong, Yoon Hee, E-mail: yhj@postech.ac.kr; Kim, Ki-Seok

Understanding of metal insulator transitions in a strongly correlated system, driven by Anderson localization (disorder) and/or Mott localization (correlation), is a long standing problem in condensed matter physics. The prevailing fundamental question would be how these two mechanisms contrive to accomplish emergent anomalous behaviors. Here, we have grown high quality perovskite SrIrO{sub 3} thin films, containing a strong spin orbit coupled 5d element Ir, on various substrates such as GdScO{sub 3} (110), DyScO{sub 3} (110), SrTiO{sub 3} (001), and NdGaO{sub 3} (110) with increasing lattice mismatch, in order to carry out a systematic study on the transport properties. We foundmore » that metal insulator transitions can be induced in this system; by either reducing thickness (on best lattice matched substrate) or changing degree of lattice strain (by lattice mismatch between film and substrates) of films. Surprisingly these two pathways seek two distinct types of metal insulator transitions; the former falls into disorder driven Anderson type whereas the latter turns out to be of unconventional Mott-Anderson type with the interplay of disorder and correlation. More interestingly, in the metallic phases of SrIrO{sub 3}, unusual non-Fermi liquid characteristics emerge in resistivity as Δρ ∝ T{sup ε} with ε evolving from 4/5 to 1 to 3/2 with increasing lattice strain. We discuss theoretical implications of these phenomena to shed light on the metal insulator transitions.« less

Evaluation of the density of the charge trapped in organic ferroelectric capacitors based on the Mott-Schottky model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Won-Ho; Kwon, Jin-Hyuk; Park, Gyeong-Tae; Kim, Jae-Hyun; Bae, Jin-Hyuk; Zhang, Xue; Park, Jaehoon

2014-09-01

Organic ferroelectric capacitors were fabricated using pentacene and poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene) (PVDF-TrFE) as an organic semiconductor and a ferroelectric material, respectively. A paraelectric poly(vinyl cinnamate) layer was adopted as an interlayer between the PVDF-TrFE layer and the bottom electrode. The paraelectric interlayer induced a depolarization field opposite to the direction of the polarization formed in the ferroelectric PVDF-TrFE insulator, thereby suppressing spontaneous polarization. As a result, the Mott-Schottky model could be used to evaluate, from the extracted flat-band voltages, the density of the charge trapped in the organic ferroelectric capacitors.

Quantum fluctuations and the closing of the Coulomb gap in a correlated insulator.

PubMed

Roy, A S; Hoekstra, A F Th; Rosenbaum, T F; Griessen, R

2002-12-30

The "switchable mirror" yttrium hydride is one of the few strongly correlated systems with a continuous Mott-Hubbard metal-insulator transition. We systematically map out the low temperature electrical transport from deep in the insulator to the quantum critical point using persistent photoconductivity as a drive parameter. Both activated hopping over a Coulomb gap and power-law quantum fluctuations must be included to describe the data. Collapse of the data onto a universal curve within a dynamical scaling framework (with corrections) requires znu=6.0+/-0.5, where nu and z are the static and dynamical critical exponents, respectively.

Topological magnetic phase in LaMnO3 (111) bilayer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weng, Yakui; Huang, Xin; Yao, Yugui; Dong, Shuai

2015-11-01

Candidates for correlated topological insulators, originated from the spin-orbit coupling as well as the Hubbard-type correlation, are expected in the (111) bilayer of perovskite-structural transition-metal oxides. Based on the first-principles calculation and tight-binding model, the electronic structure of a LaMnO3 (111) bilayer sandwiched in LaScO3 barriers has been investigated. For the ideal undistorted perovskite structure, the Fermi energy of LaMnO3 (111) bilayer just stays at the Dirac point, rendering a semimetal (graphenelike) which is also a half metal [different from graphene or the previously studied LaNiO3 (111) bilayer]. The Dirac cone can be opened by the spin-orbit coupling, giving rise to nontrivial topological bands corresponding to the (quantized) anomalous Hall effect. For the realistic orthorhombic distorted lattice, the Dirac point moves with increasing Hubbard repulsion (or equivalent Jahn-Teller distortion). Finally, a Mott gap opens, establishing a phase boundary between the Mott insulator and topological magnetic insulator. Our calculation finds that the gap opened by spin-orbit coupling is much smaller in the orthorhombic distorted lattice (˜1.7 meV) than the undistorted one (˜11 meV). Therefore, to suppress the lattice distortion can be helpful to enhance the robustness of the topological phase in perovskite (111) bilayers.

Superconductor to Mott insulator transition in YBa2Cu3O7/LaCaMnO3 heterostructures.

PubMed

Gray, B A; Middey, S; Conti, G; Gray, A X; Kuo, C-T; Kaiser, A M; Ueda, S; Kobayashi, K; Meyers, D; Kareev, M; Tung, I C; Liu, Jian; Fadley, C S; Chakhalian, J; Freeland, J W

2016-09-15

The superconductor-to-insulator transition (SIT) induced by means such as external magnetic fields, disorder or spatial confinement is a vivid illustration of a quantum phase transition dramatically affecting the superconducting order parameter. In pursuit of a new realization of the SIT by interfacial charge transfer, we developed extremely thin superlattices composed of high Tc superconductor YBa2Cu3O7 (YBCO) and colossal magnetoresistance ferromagnet La0.67Ca0.33MnO3 (LCMO). By using linearly polarized resonant X-ray absorption spectroscopy and magnetic circular dichroism, combined with hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, we derived a complete picture of the interfacial carrier doping in cuprate and manganite atomic layers, leading to the transition from superconducting to an unusual Mott insulating state emerging with the increase of LCMO layer thickness. In addition, contrary to the common perception that only transition metal ions may respond to the charge transfer process, we found that charge is also actively compensated by rare-earth and alkaline-earth metal ions of the interface. Such deterministic control of Tc by pure electronic doping without any hindering effects of chemical substitution is another promising route to disentangle the role of disorder on the pseudo-gap and charge density wave phases of underdoped cuprates.

Two-dimensional electron gas in tricolor oxide interfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cao, Yanwei; Kareev, Michael; Liu, Xiaoran; Middey, Srimanta; Meyers, Derek; Tchakhalian, Jak

2014-03-01

Understanding and manipulating spin of electrons in nanometer scale is the main challenge of current spintronics, recent emergent two-dimensional electron gas in oxide interface provides a good platform to investigate the spin behavior by covering an insulating magnetic oxide layer. In this work, take titanates as an example, ultra-thin tricolor (tri-compound) titanate superlattices ([LaTiO3/SrTiO3/YTiO3]) were grown in a layer-by-layer way by pulsed laser deposition. High sample quality and their electronic structures were characterized by the combination of in-situ photoelectron and ex-situ structure and surface morphology probes. Temperature-dependent sheet resistance indicates the presence of metallic interfaces in both [LaTiO3 /SrTiO3 ] and all the tricolor structures, whereas a [YTiO3 /SrTiO3] bi-layer shows insulating behavior. The tricolor titanate superlattices provide an opportunity to induce tunable spin-polarization into the two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) with Mott carriers.

Epitaxial strain effect on the physical properties of layered ruthenate and iridate thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miao, Ludi

Transition metal oxides have attracted widespread attention due to their broad range of fascinating exotic phenomena such as multiferroicity, superconductivity, colossal magnetoresistance and metal-to-insulator transition. Due to the interplay between spin, charge, lattice and orbital degrees of freedom of strongly correlated d electrons, these physical properties are extremely sensitive to the external perturbations such as magnetic field, charge carrier doping and pressure, which provide a unique chance in search for novel exotic quantum states. Ruthenate systems are a typical strongly correlated system, with rich ordered states and their properties are extremely sensitive to external stimuli. Recently, the experimental observation of spin-orbit coupling induced Mott insulator in Sr2IrO4 as well as the theoretical prediction of topological insulating state in other iridates, have attracted tremendous interest in the physics of strong correlation and spin-orbit coupling in 4d/5d compounds. We observe an itinerant ferromagnetic ground state of Ca2 RuO4 film in stark contrast to the Mott-insulating state in bulk Ca2RuO4. We have also established the epitaxial strain effect on the transport and magnetic properties for the (Ca,Sr) 2RuO4 thin films. For Sr2IrO4 thin films, we will show that the Jeff = 1/2 moment orientation can be modulated by epitaxial strain. In addition, we discovered novel Ba 7Ir3O13+x thin films which exhibit colossal permittivity.

Strain-induced insulator-to-metal transition in LaTiO3 within DFT + DMFT

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dymkowski, Krzysztof; Ederer, Claude

2014-04-01

We present results of combined density functional theory plus dynamical mean-field theory (DFT + DMFT) calculations, which show that the Mott insulator LaTiO3 undergoes an insulator-to-metal transition under compressive epitaxial strain of about -2%. This transition is driven by strain-induced changes in the crystal-field splitting between the Ti t2g orbitals, which in turn are intimately related to the collective tilts and rotations of the oxygen octahedra in the orthorhombically distorted Pbnm perovskite structure. An accurate treatment of the underlying crystal structure is therefore crucial for a correct description of the observed metal-insulator transition. Our theoretical results are consistent with recent experimental observations and demonstrate that metallic behavior in heterostructures of otherwise insulating materials can emerge also from mechanisms other than genuine interface effects.

Insulating phases of vanadium dioxide are Mott-Hubbard insulators

DOE PAGES

Huffman, T. J.; Hendriks, C.; Walter, E. J.; ...

2017-02-15

Here, we present comprehensive broadband optical spectroscopy data on two insulating phases of vanadium dioxide (VO 2): monoclinic M 2 and triclinic. The main result of our work is that the energy gap and the electronic structure are essentially unaltered by the first-order structural phase transition between the M 2 and triclinic phases. Moreover, the optical interband features in the M 2 and triclinic phases are remarkably similar to those observed in the well-studied monoclinic M 1 insulating phase of VO 2. As the energy gap is insensitive to the different lattice structures of the three insulating phases, we rulemore » out vanadium-vanadium pairing (the Peierls component) as the dominant contributor to the opening of the gap. Rather, the energy gap arises primarily from intra-atomic Coulomb correlations.« less

Neutron Scattering Studies on Correlated Transition-Metal Oxides

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Mengze

We have explored the collective phenomena of correlated electrons in two different transition-metal oxides, Ruddlesden-Popper type ruthenates (Sr,Ca) n+1RunO3n+1 and inverse-trirutile chromates Cr2MO6 (M = Te, Mo and W), using neutron scattering in combination with various material characterization methods. (Sr,Ca)n+1RunO 3n+1 are 4d transition-metal oxides exhibiting competing magnetic and electronic tendencies. The delicate balance among the competing states can be readily tuned by perturbations, such as chemical doping and magnetic field, which gives rise to emergent phenomena. We have investigated the effects of 3d transition-metal doping on the magnetic and electronic properties of layered ruthenates. For instance, the single-layer (n = 1) Sr2RuO4 is an unconventional superconductor possessing an incommensurate spin density wave instability with a wave vector qic= (0.3 0.3 L) driven by Fermi surface nesting. Upon Fe substitution, we have unveiled an unexpected commensurate spin density wave order with a propagation vector qc= (0.25 0.25 0) in Sr2Ru1-xFexO 4 (x = 0.03 and 0.05), despite the magnetic fluctuations persisting at qic. The latter feature is corroborated by the first principles calculations, which show that Fe doping barely changes the nesting vector of the Fermi surface. These results suggest that in addition to the known incommensurate magnetic instability, Sr2RuO4 is also in proximity to a commensurate magnetic tendency that can be stabilized via Fe doping. We have also studied the effects of a magnetic field. For example, the bilayer (n = 2) Ca3(Ru1-xTi x)2O7 (x = 0.03) is a G-type antiferromagnetic Mott insulator. We have revealed that a modest magnetic field can lead to colossal magnetoresistance arising from an anomalous collapse of the Mott insulating state. Such an insulator-to-metal transition is accompanied by magnetic and structural transitions. These findings call for deeper theoretical studies to reexamine the magnetic field tuning of Mott systems with magnetic and electronic instabilities, as a magnetic field usually stabilizes the insulating ground state in Mott-Hubbard systems. Cr2MO6 (M = Te, W and Mo) are spin dimer systems with the magnetic ions Cr3+ structurally dimerized favoring a singlet ground state. However, all three compounds investigated exhibit long-range antiferromagnetic orders at low temperature owing to the inter-dimer interactions. We have shown that the inter-dimer exchange coupling can be tuned from antiferromagnetic in Cr2TeO6 to ferromagnetic in Cr2WO6 and Cr2MoO6, by altering the degree of d-p orbital hybridization between W(Mo) and O atoms. The tunability of the inter-dimer interactions without introducing additional complexities such as structural distortions and carrier doping offers a rare opportunity to drive the system toward the quantum critical point (QCP) separating the dimer-based quantum disordered state and the classical long-range antiferromagnetic order. Moreover, we have unraveled Higgs amplitude modes in the magnetic excitation spectra of Cr2TeO6 and Cr2WO6, which are generally believed to survive only in systems close to the QCP where the ordered moment is suppressed significantly from its fully saturated value by quantum fluctuations. However, these two compounds are away from the QCP with the ordered moment reduced only by 24%. This study suggests that Higgs amplitude modes are not the privilege of ordered systems in the vicinity of the QCP, but may be common excitation modes in ordered spin dimer systems.

Fine-tuning the Mott metal-insulator transition and critical charge carrier dynamics in molecular conductors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Müller, Jens; Hartmann, Benedikt; Sasaki, Takahiko

2017-12-01

The unique possibilities of fine-tuning their physical properties in the vicinity of the Mott metal-insulator transition make the quasi-two-dimensional organic charge-transfer salts ?-(BEDT-TTF)?X unprecedented model systems for studying the fundamentals of electron-electron correlations and the coupling between charge, spin and lattice degrees of freedom in reduced dimensions. The critical properties and the universality class of the Mott transition, however, are controversially debated for these materials, and information on the low-frequency dynamical properties of the correlated electrons is rather limited. By introducing fluctuation (noise) spectroscopy as a powerful new tool for studying the slow dynamics of charge carriers, in the past years we have been able to extract spectroscopic information on the coupling of charge carriers to the vibrational degrees of freedom of the crystal lattice. This is related to a glassy freezing of the BEDT-TTF molecules' ethylene end-group (EEG) rotations at elevated temperatures, which (i) results in a small amount of (intrinsic) disorder and (ii) crucially influences the ratio of bandwidth to on-site Coulomb repulsion (W / U) and therefore the samples' position in the phase diagram, i.e. the electronic ground state. The low-frequency resistance fluctuations show a dramatic enhancement and divergent behaviour when tuning the sample close to the critical point of the Mott transition, accompanied by a strong shift of spectral weight to low frequencies and the onset of non-Gaussian behaviour. This indicates the critical slowing down of the order-parameter (doublon density) fluctuations and suggests a collective dynamics of the correlated electrons. In order to enable detailed investigations of this hypothesis in future experiments, by exploiting the structural EEG relaxation, a 'warming cycle' protocol can be established that allows for fine-tuning the sample across the Mott transition and therefore precisely accessing the finite-temperature critical endpoint. We 'calibrate' this procedure by a comparison to pressure-tuning experiments on the same sample. This method will allow to map out the region of ergodicity breaking around the critical endpoint and its dependence on disorder.

Spin-orbit driven magnetic insulating state with J eff=1/2 character in a 4d oxide

DOE PAGES

Calder, S.; Li, Ling; Okamoto, Satoshi; ...

2015-11-30

The unusual magnetic and electronic ground states of 5d iridates has been shown to be driven by intrinsically enhanced spin-orbit coupling (SOC). The influence of appreciable but reduced SOC in creating the manifested magnetic insulating states in 4d oxides is less clear, with one hurdle being the existence of such compounds. Here we present experimental and theoretical results on Sr 4RhO 6 that reveal SOC dominated behavior. Neutron measurements show the octahedra are both spatially separated and locally ideal, making the electronic ground state susceptible to alterations by SOC. Magnetic ordering is observed with a similar structure to an analogousmore » J eff=1/2 Mott iridate. We consider the underlying role of SOC in this rhodate with density functional theory and x-ray absorption spectroscopy and find a magnetic insulating ground state with J eff =1/2 character.The unusual magnetic and electronic ground states of 5d iridates have been shown to be driven by intrinsically enhanced spin-orbit coupling (SOC). The influence of appreciable but reduced SOC in creating the manifested magnetic insulating states in 4d oxides is less clear, with one hurdle being the existence of such compounds. Here, we present experimental and theoretical results on Sr 4RhO 6 that reveal SOC dominated behavior. Neutron measurements show the octahedra are both spatially separated and locally ideal, making the electronic ground state susceptible to alterations by SOC. Magnetic ordering is observed with a similar structure to an analogous J eff=1/2 Mott iridate. We consider the underlying role of SOC in this rhodate with density functional theory and x-ray absorption spectroscopy, and find a magnetic insulating ground state with J eff=12 character.« less

Superfluid and Insulating Phases of Fermion Mixtures in Optical Lattices

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Iskin, M.; Sa de Melo, C. A. R.

2007-08-24

The ground state phase diagram of fermion mixtures in optical lattices is analyzed as a function of interaction strength, fermion filling factor, and tunneling parameters. In addition to standard superfluid, phase-separated or coexisting superfluid-excess-fermion phases found in homogeneous or harmonically trapped systems, fermions in optical lattices have several insulating phases, including a molecular Bose-Mott insulator (BMI), a Fermi-Pauli (band) insulator (FPI), a phase-separated BMI-FPI mixture or a Bose-Fermi checkerboard (BFC). The molecular BMI phase is the fermion mixture counterpart of the atomic BMI found in atomic Bose systems, the BFC or BMI-FPI phases exist in Bose-Fermi mixtures, and lastly themore » FPI phase is particular to the Fermi nature of the constituent atoms of the mixture.« less

Quantum quench in one dimension: coherent inhomogeneity amplification and "supersolitons".

PubMed

Foster, Matthew S; Yuzbashyan, Emil A; Altshuler, Boris L

2010-09-24

We study a quantum quench in a 1D system possessing Luttinger liquid (LL) and Mott insulating ground states before and after the quench, respectively. We show that the quench induces power law amplification in time of any particle density inhomogeneity in the initial LL ground state. The scaling exponent is set by the fractionalization of the LL quasiparticle number relative to the insulator. As an illustration, we consider the traveling density waves launched from an initial localized density bump. While these waves exhibit a particular rigid shape, their amplitudes grow without bound.

Collective Kondo effect in the Anderson-Hubbard lattice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fazekas, P.; Itai, K.

1997-02-01

The periodic Anderson model is extended by switching on a Hubbard U for the conduction electrons. We use the Gutzwiller variational method to study the nearly integral valent limit. The lattice Kondo energy contains the U-dependent chemical potential of the Hubbard subsystem in the exponent, and the correlation-induced band narrowing in the prefactor. Both effects tend to suppress the Kondo scale, which can be understood to result from the blocking of hybridization. At half-filling, we find a Brinkman-Rice-type transition from a Kondo insulator to a Mott insulator.

Spectral weight of excitations in Bose Hubbard model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alavani, Bhargav K.; Pai, Ramesh V.

2017-05-01

We obtain excitation spectra in the superfluid and the Mott Insulator phases of Bose Hubbard model near unit filling within Random Phase Approximation (RPA) and calculate its spectral weight. This gives a transparent description of contribution of each excitation towards the total Density of States (DOS) which we calculate from these spectral weights.

Superfluid-Mott insulator transition of spin-1 bosons in an optical lattice

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tsuchiya, Shunji; Department of Physics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 1A7; Kurihara, Susumu

2004-10-01

We study the superfluid-Mott insulator (SF-MI) transition of spin-1 bosons interacting antiferromagnetically in an optical lattice. Starting from a Bose-Hubbard tight-binding model for spin-1 bosons, we obtain the zero-temperature phase diagram by a mean-field approximation. We find that the MI phase with an even number of atoms per site is a spin singlet state, while the MI phase with an odd number of atoms per site has spin 1 at each site in the limit of t=0, where t is the hopping matrix element. We also show that the superfluid phase is a polar state as in the case formore » a spin-1 Bose condensate in a harmonic trap. It is found that the MI phase is strongly stabilized against the SF-MI transition when the number of atoms per site is even, due to the formation of singlet pairs. We derive the effective spin Hamiltonian for the MI phase with one atom per site and briefly discuss the spin order in the MI phase.« less

Spin-orbital fluctuations in the paramagnetic Mott insulator (V1-xCrx)2O3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leiner, Jonathan; Stone, Matthew; Lumsden, Mark; Bao, Wei; Broholm, Collin

2015-03-01

The phase diagram of rhombohedral V2O3 features several distinct strongly correlated phases as a function of doping, pressure and temperature. When doped with chromium for 180 K

Geometrically frustrated trimer-based Mott insulator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nguyen, Loi T.; Halloran, T.; Xie, Weiwei; Kong, Tai; Broholm, C. L.; Cava, R. J.

2018-05-01

The crystal structure of B a4NbR u3O12 is based on triangular planes of elongated R u3O12 trimers oriented perpendicular to the plane. We report that it is semiconducting, that its Weiss temperature and effective magnetic moment are -155 K and 2.59 μB/f .u . , respectively, and that the magnetic susceptibility and specific-heat data indicate that it exhibits magnetic ordering near 4 K. The presence of a high density of low energy states is evidenced by a substantial Sommerfeld-like T-linear term [ γ =31 (2 ) mJ mo l-1K-2 ] in the specific heat. Electronic-structure calculations reveal that the electronic states at the Fermi energy reside on the R u3O12 trimers and that the calculated density of electronic states is high and continuous around the Fermi energy—in other words density functional theory calculates the material to be a metal. The results imply that B a4NbR u3O12 is a geometrically frustrated trimer-based Mott insulator.

Various topological Mott insulators and topological bulk charge pumping in strongly-interacting boson system in one-dimensional superlattice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuno, Yoshihito; Shimizu, Keita; Ichinose, Ikuo

2017-12-01

In this paper, we study a one-dimensional boson system in a superlattice potential. This system is experimentally feasible by using ultracold atomic gases, and attracts much attention these days. It is expected that the system has a topological phase called a topological Mott insulator (TMI). We show that in strongly-interacting cases, the competition between the superlattice potential and the on-site interaction leads to various TMIs with a non-vanishing integer Chern number. Compared to the hard-core case, the soft-core boson system exhibits rich phase diagrams including various non-trivial TMIs. By using the exact diagonalization, we obtain detailed bulk-global phase diagrams including the TMIs with high Chern numbers and also various non-topological phases. We also show that in adiabatic experimental setups, the strongly-interacting bosonic TMIs exhibit the topological particle transfer, i.e., the topological charge pumping phenomenon, similarly to weakly-interacting systems. The various TMIs are characterized by topological charge pumping as it is closely related to the Chern number, and therefore the Chern number is to be observed in feasible experiments.

Putting competing orders in their place near the Mott transition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Balents, Leon; Bartosch, Lorenz; Burkov, Anton; Sachdev, Subir; Sengupta, Krishnendu

2005-04-01

We describe the localization transition of superfluids on two-dimensional lattices into commensurate Mott insulators with average particle density p/q ( p,q relatively prime integers) per lattice site. For bosons on the square lattice, we argue that the superfluid has at least q degenerate species of vortices which transform under a projective representation of the square-lattice space group (a PSG). The formation of a single-vortex condensate produces the Mott insulator, which is required by the PSG to have density wave order at wavelengths of q/n lattice sites ( n integer) along the principle axes; such a second-order transition is forbidden in the Landau-Ginzburg-Wilson frame-work. We also discuss the superfluid-insulator transition in the direct boson representation and find that an interpretation of the quantum criticality in terms of deconfined fractionalized bosons is only permitted at special values of q for which a permutative representation of the PSG exists. We argue [and demonstrate in detail in a companion paper: L. Balents , following paper, Phys. Rev. B 71, 144509 (2005)] that our results apply essentially unchanged to electronic systems with short-range pairing, with the PSG determined by the particle density of Cooper pairs. We also describe the effect of static impurities in the superfluid: the impurities locally break the degeneracy between the q vortex species, and this induces density-wave order near each vortex. We suggest that such a theory offers an appealing rationale for the local density-of-states modulations observed by Hoffman [Science 295, 466 (2002)], in scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) studies of the vortex lattice of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δ and allows a unified description of the nucleation of density-wave order in zero and finite magnetic fields. We note signatures of our theory that may be tested by future STM experiments.

Suppression of Structural Phase Transition in VO2 by Epitaxial Strain in Vicinity of Metal-insulator Transition

PubMed Central

Yang, Mengmeng; Yang, Yuanjun; Bin Hong; Wang, Liangxin; Hu, Kai; Dong, Yongqi; Xu, Han; Huang, Haoliang; Zhao, Jiangtao; Chen, Haiping; Song, Li; Ju, Huanxin; Zhu, Junfa; Bao, Jun; Li, Xiaoguang; Gu, Yueliang; Yang, Tieying; Gao, Xingyu; Luo, Zhenlin; Gao, Chen

2016-01-01

Mechanism of metal-insulator transition (MIT) in strained VO2 thin films is very complicated and incompletely understood despite three scenarios with potential explanations including electronic correlation (Mott mechanism), structural transformation (Peierls theory) and collaborative Mott-Peierls transition. Herein, we have decoupled coactions of structural and electronic phase transitions across the MIT by implementing epitaxial strain on 13-nm-thick (001)-VO2 films in comparison to thicker films. The structural evolution during MIT characterized by temperature-dependent synchrotron radiation high-resolution X-ray diffraction reciprocal space mapping and Raman spectroscopy suggested that the structural phase transition in the temperature range of vicinity of the MIT is suppressed by epitaxial strain. Furthermore, temperature-dependent Ultraviolet Photoelectron Spectroscopy (UPS) revealed the changes in electron occupancy near the Fermi energy EF of V 3d orbital, implying that the electronic transition triggers the MIT in the strained films. Thus the MIT in the bi-axially strained VO2 thin films should be only driven by electronic transition without assistance of structural phase transition. Density functional theoretical calculations further confirmed that the tetragonal phase across the MIT can be both in insulating and metallic states in the strained (001)-VO2/TiO2 thin films. This work offers a better understanding of the mechanism of MIT in the strained VO2 films. PMID:26975328

Superconductor to Mott insulator transition in YBa 2Cu 3O 7/LaCaMnO 3 heterostructures

DOE PAGES

Gray, B. A.; Middey, S.; Conti, G.; ...

2016-09-15

The superconductor-to-insulator transition (SIT) induced by means such as external magnetic fields, disorder or spatial confinement is a vivid illustration of a quantum phase transition dramatically affecting the superconducting order parameter. In this paper, in pursuit of a new realization of the SIT by interfacial charge transfer, we developed extremely thin superlattices composed of high Tc superconductor YBa 2Cu 3O 7 (YBCO) and colossal magnetoresistance ferromagnet La 0.67Ca 0.33MnO 3 (LCMO). By using linearly polarized resonant X-ray absorption spectroscopy and magnetic circular dichroism, combined with hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, we derived a complete picture of the interfacial carrier doping inmore » cuprate and manganite atomic layers, leading to the transition from superconducting to an unusual Mott insulating state emerging with the increase of LCMO layer thickness. In addition, contrary to the common perception that only transition metal ions may respond to the charge transfer process, we found that charge is also actively compensated by rare-earth and alkaline-earth metal ions of the interface. Finally, such deterministic control of Tc by pure electronic doping without any hindering effects of chemical substitution is another promising route to disentangle the role of disorder on the pseudo-gap and charge density wave phases of underdoped cuprates.« less

Understanding Metal-Insulator transitions in ultra-thin films of LaNiO3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ravichandran, Jayakanth; King, Philip D. C.; Schlom, Darrell G.; Shen, Kyle M.; Kim, Philip

2014-03-01

LaNiO3 (LNO) is a bulk paramagnetic metal and a member of the family of RENiO3 Nickelates (RE = Rare Earth Metals), which is on the verge of the metal-insulator transition. Ultra-thin films of LNO has been studied extensively in the past and due to its sensitivity to disorder, the true nature of the metal-insulator transition in these films have been hard to decipher. We grow high quality ultra-thin films of LNO using reactive molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) and use a combination of ionic liquid gating and magneto-transport measurements to understand the nature and tunability of metal-insulator transition as a function of thickness for LNO. The underlying mechanisms for the transition are discussed in the framework of standard transport models. These results are discussed in the light of other Mott insulators such as Sr2IrO4, where we have performed similar measurements around the insulating state.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ding, Yang; Yang, Liuxiang; Chen, Cheng-Chien

The spin-orbit Mott insulator Sr 3Ir 2O 7 provides a fascinating playground to explore insulator-metal transition driven by intertwined charge, spin, and lattice degrees of freedom. Here, we report high-pressure electric resistance and resonant inelastic x-ray scattering measurements on single-crystal Sr 3Ir 2O 7 up to 63-65 GPa at 300 K. The material becomes a confined metal at 59.5 GPa, showing metallicity in the ab plane but an insulating behavior along the c axis. Such an unusual phenomenon resembles the strange metal phase in cuprate superconductors. Since there is no sign of the collapse of spin-orbit or Coulomb interactions inmore » x-ray measurements, this novel insulator-metal transition is potentially driven by a first-order structural change at nearby pressures. Our discovery points to a new approach for synthesizing functional materials.« less

Interaction effect in the Kondo energy of the periodic Anderson-Hubbard model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Itai, K.; Fazekas, P.

1996-07-01

We extend the periodic Anderson model by switching on a Hubbard U for the conduction band. The nearly integral valent limit of the Anderson-Hubbard model is studied with the Gutzwiller variational method. The lattice Kondo energy shows U dependence both in the prefactor and the exponent. Switching on U reduces the Kondo scale, which can be understood to result from the blocking of hybridization. At half filling, we find a Brinkman-Rice-type transition from a Kondo insulator to a Mott insulator. Our findings should be relevant for a number of correlated two-band models of recent interest.

Shubnikov-de Haas Oscillations in LaTiO3/SrTiO3 Heterostructures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Veit, Michael; Ramshaw, Brad; Chan, Mun; Suzuki, Yuri

Emergent metallic behavior in heterostructures of the Mott insulator LaTiO3 and the band insulator SrTiO3 was observed for the first time more than a decade ago. It has often been compared to other oxide systems which have a two-dimensional Fermi surface, but there have been few studies probing the dimensionality of the metallicity in this system. We have studied the transport properties of thin films of LaTiO3 on SrTiO3 substrates. Our measurements have indicated that the entirety of the LaTiO3 film is conductive with an additional contribution near the interface. When the film thickness is on the order of 3-4 unit cells, we observe two sets of Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations - low frequency oscillations with a frequency of 2T and high frequency of 36T. We attribute the observation of these two sets of oscillations to a Rashba splitting which creates a smaller inner Fermi pocket and a larger outer Fermi pocket. These results are consistent with our measurements of in plane anisotropic magnetoresistance and a weak antilocalization correction to the magnetoconductance Further measurements on the angular dependence of the oscillations indicate that their frequency does not change, thus indicating that the Fermi surface is more three-dimensional.

Holographic superconductor on a novel insulator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ling, Yi; Liu, Peng; Wu, Jian-Pin; Wu, Meng-He

2018-01-01

We construct a holographic superconductor model, based on a gravity theory, which exhibits novel metal-insulator transitions. We investigate the condition for the condensation of the scalar field over the parameter space, and then focus on the superconductivity over the insulating phase with a hard gap, which is supposed to be Mott-like. It turns out that the formation of the hard gap in the insulating phase benefits the superconductivity. This phenomenon is analogous to the fact that the pseudogap phase can promote the pre-pairing of electrons in high {T}{{c}} cuprates. We expect that this work can shed light on understanding the mechanism of high {T}{{c}} superconductivity from the holographic side. Supported by Natural Science Foundation of China (11575195, 11775036, 11305018), Y.L. also acknowledges the support from Jiangxi young scientists (JingGang Star) program and 555 talent project of Jiangxi Province. J. P. Wu is also supported by Natural Science Foundation of Liaoning Province (201602013)

Disorder-induced localization in crystalline phase-change materials.

PubMed

Siegrist, T; Jost, P; Volker, H; Woda, M; Merkelbach, P; Schlockermann, C; Wuttig, M

2011-03-01

Localization of charge carriers in crystalline solids has been the subject of numerous investigations over more than half a century. Materials that show a metal-insulator transition without a structural change are therefore of interest. Mechanisms leading to metal-insulator transition include electron correlation (Mott transition) or disorder (Anderson localization), but a clear distinction is difficult. Here we report on a metal-insulator transition on increasing annealing temperature for a group of crystalline phase-change materials, where the metal-insulator transition is due to strong disorder usually associated only with amorphous solids. With pronounced disorder but weak electron correlation, these phase-change materials form an unparalleled quantum state of matter. Their universal electronic behaviour seems to be at the origin of the remarkable reproducibility of the resistance switching that is crucial to their applications in non-volatile-memory devices. Controlling the degree of disorder in crystalline phase-change materials might enable multilevel resistance states in upcoming storage devices.

Sitewise manipulations and Mott insulator-superfluid transition of interacting photons using superconducting circuit simulators

DOE PAGES

Deng, Xiuhao; Jia, Chunjing; Chien, Chih-Chun

2015-02-23

We report that the Bose Hubbard model (BHM) of interacting bosons in a lattice has been a paradigm in many-body physics, and it exhibits a Mott insulator (MI)-superfluid (SF) transition at integer filling. Here a quantum simulator of the BHM using a superconducting circuit is proposed. Specifically, a superconducting transmission line resonator supporting microwave photons is coupled to a charge qubit to form one site of the BHM, and adjacent sites are connected by a tunable coupler. To obtain a mapping from the superconducting circuit to the BHM, we focus on the dispersive regime where the excitations remain photonlike. Standardmore » perturbation theory is implemented to locate the parameter range where the MI-SF transition may be simulated. This simulator allows single-site manipulations and we illustrate this feature by considering two scenarios where a single-site manipulation can drive a MI-SF transition. The transition can be analyzed by mean-field analyses, and the exact diagonalization was implemented to provide accurate results. The variance of the photon density and the fidelity metric clearly show signatures of the transition. Lastly, experimental realizations and other possible applications of this simulator are also discussed.« less

Magnetism and electronic structure at the interface of a metal CaRuO3 and Mott insulator CaMnO3.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boris, Alexander; Freeland, John; Kavich, Jerald; Lee, Ho Nyung; Yordanov, Petar; Khaliullin, Giniyat; Keimer, Bernhard; Chakhalian, Jak

2007-03-01

Recent advances in fabrication of ultra-thin complex oxide heterostructures have opened new opportunities to investigate possible novel quantum states at the correlated interfaces. With this aim we fabricated ultra-thin superlattices of CaMnO3(CMO)/CaRuO3(CRO) with the thickness of CRO layers from 1 to 12 unit cells by laser MBE. Electronic properties of CRO/CMO were investigated by soft x-ray spectroscopies at the L-edges of Mn and Ru. SQUID and optical reflectivity revealed a ferromagnetic thickness-independent transition at Tc 100K and CRO thickness-dependent negative magnetoresistance. This behavior is in marked contrast to the individual layers. At the interface we found a clear sign of net magnetic moment on Mn, which saturates only at magnetic field of 5T. Unlike CMO, similar measurements at the Ru L3-edge showed no detectable magnetism in the field up to 5T. Comparison with Ru references confirmed Ru(IV) oxidation state. These findings are in the sharp contrast with previously suggested models involving Ru(IV-V) valency exchange and thus reveal intricate nature of the interface between a metal and Mott insulator.

Foundations of heavy-fermion superconductivity: lattice Kondo effect and Mott physics.

PubMed

Steglich, Frank; Wirth, Steffen

2016-08-01

This article overviews the development of heavy-fermion superconductivity, notably in such rare-earth-based intermetallic compounds which behave as Kondo-lattice systems. Heavy-fermion superconductivity is of unconventional nature in the sense that it is not mediated by electron-phonon coupling. Rather, in most cases the attractive interaction between charge carriers is apparently magnetic in origin. Fluctuations associated with an antiferromagnetic (AF) quantum critical point (QCP) play a major role. The first heavy-fermion superconductor CeCu2Si2 turned out to be the prototype of a larger group of materials for which the underlying, often pressure-induced, AF QCP is likely to be of a three-dimensional (3D) spin-density-wave (SDW) variety. For UBe13, the second heavy-fermion superconductor, a magnetic-field-induced 3D SDW QCP inside the superconducting phase can be conjectured. Such a 'conventional', itinerant QCP can be well understood within Landau's paradigm of order-parameter fluctuations. In contrast, the low-temperature normal-state properties of a few heavy-fermion superconductors are at odds with the Landau framework. They are characterized by an 'unconventional', local QCP which may be considered a zero-temperature 4 f-orbital selective Mott transition. Here, as concluded for YbRh2Si2, the breakdown of the Kondo effect concurring with the AF instability gives rise to an abrupt change of the Fermi surface. Very recently, superconductivity was discovered for this compound at ultra-low temperatures. Therefore, YbRh2Si2 along with CeRhIn5 under pressure provide a natural link between the large group of about fifty low-temperature heavy-fermion superconductors and other families of unconventional superconductors with substantially higher T c, e.g. the doped Mott insulators of the perovskite-type cuprates and the organic charge-transfer salts.

Electronic correlation in the infrared optical properties of the quasi-two-dimensional κ-type BEDT-TTF dimer system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sasaki, T.; Ito, I.; Yoneyama, N.; Kobayashi, N.; Hanasaki, N.; Tajima, H.; Ito, T.; Iwasa, Y.

2004-02-01

The polarized optical reflectance spectra of the quasi-two-dimensional organic correlated electron system κ-(BEDT-TTF)2Cu[N(CN)2]Y, Y=Br and Cl are measured in the infrared region. The former shows the superconductivity at Tc≃11.6 K and the latter does the antiferromagnetic insulator transition at TN≃28 K. Both the specific molecular vibration mode ν3(ag) of the BEDT-TTF molecule and the optical conductivity hump in the mid-infrared region change correlatively at T*≃38 K of κ-(BEDT-TTF)2Cu[N(CN)2]Br, although no indication of T* but the insulating behavior below Tins≃50 60 K are found in κ-(BEDT-TTF)2Cu[N(CN)2]Cl. The results suggest that the electron-molecular vibration coupling on the ν3(ag) mode becomes weak due to the enhancement of the itinerant nature of the carriers on the dimer of the BEDT-TTF molecules below T*, while it does strong below Tins because of the localized carriers on the dimer. These changes are in agreement with the reduction and the enhancement of the mid-infrared conductivity hump below T* and Tins, respectively, which originates from the transitions between the upper and lower Mott-Hubbard bands. The present observations demonstrate that two different metallic states of κ-(BEDT-TTF)2Cu[N(CN)2]Br are regarded as a correlated good metal below T* including the superconducting state and a half filling bad metal above T*. In contrast the insulating state of κ-(BEDT-TTF)2Cu[N(CN)2]Cl below Tins is the Mott insulator.

First-order metal-insulator transitions in the extended Hubbard model due to self-consistent screening of the effective interaction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schüler, M.; van Loon, E. G. C. P.; Katsnelson, M. I.; Wehling, T. O.

2018-04-01

While the Hubbard model is the standard model to study Mott metal-insulator transitions, it is still unclear to what extent it can describe metal-insulator transitions in real solids, where nonlocal Coulomb interactions are always present. By using a variational principle, we clarify this issue for short- and long-range nonlocal Coulomb interactions for half-filled systems on bipartite lattices. We find that repulsive nonlocal interactions generally stabilize the Fermi-liquid regime. The metal-insulator phase boundary is shifted to larger interaction strengths to leading order linearly with nonlocal interactions. Importantly, nonlocal interactions can raise the order of the metal-insulator transition. We present a detailed analysis of how the dimension and geometry of the lattice as well as the temperature determine the critical nonlocal interaction leading to a first-order transition: for systems in more than two dimensions with nonzero density of states at the Fermi energy the critical nonlocal interaction is arbitrarily small; otherwise, it is finite.

Manifestation of hopping conductivity and granularity within phase diagrams of LaO1-x F x BiS2, Sr1-x La x FBiS2 and related BiS2-based compounds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arouca, R.; Silva Neto, M. B.; Chaves, C. M.; Nagao, M.; Watauchi, S.; Tanaka, I.; ElMassalami, M.

2017-09-01

Layered BiS 2 -based series, such as LaO 1-x F x BiS 2 and Sr 1-x La x FBiS 2 , offer ideal examples for studying normal and superconducting phase diagram of a solid solution that evolves from a nonmagnetic band-insulator parent. We constructed typical x-T phase diagrams of these systems based on events occurring in thermal evolution of their electrical resistivity, ρ(x, T) . Overall evolution of these diagrams can be rationalized in terms of (i) Mott-Efros-Shklovskii scenario which, within the semiconducting x regime (x_MIT = Mott metal-insulator transition), describes the doping influence on the thermally activated hopping conductivity. (ii) A granular metal (superconductor) scenario which, within x_MIT< x < x_solubility , describes the evolution of normal and superconducting properties in terms of conductance g, Coulomb charging energy E c and Josephson coupling J; their joint influence is usually captured within a g-\\frac{gE_c}{J}-T phase diagram. Based on analysis of the granular character of ρ(x, T) , we converted the x-T diagrams into projected g - T diagrams which, being fundamental, allow a better understanding of evolution of various granular-related properties (in particular the hallmarks of normal-state \\partialρ/\\partial T<0 feature and superconductor-insulator transition) and how such properties are influenced by x, pressure or heat treatment.

Uniaxial-Strain-Orientation Dependence of the Competition between Mott and Charge Ordered Phases and their Corresponding Superconductivity of β-(BDA-TTP)2I3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nuruzzaman, Md.; Yokogawa, Keiichi; Yoshino, Harukazu; Yoshimoto, Haruo; Kikuchi, Koichi; Kaihatsu, Takayuki; Yamada, Jun-ichi; Murata, Keizo

2012-12-01

We studied the electronic transport properties of the charge transfer salt β-(BDA-TTP)2I3 [BDA-TTP: 2,5-bis(1,3-dithian-2-ylidene)-1,3,4,6-tetrathiapentalene] by applying uniaxial strains along the three crystallographic axes, and obtained three corresponding temperature-pressure phase diagrams. Three phase diagrams were quite dependent on the direction of compression. Following the preceding paper by Kikuchi et al., we speculate that the insulating states are of 1/2-filled Mott insulators for the a- and b-axes compressions, and of 1/4-filled charge ordered states for the c-axis compression as well as hydrostatic pressure. The superconducting phase under uniaxial strain was realized with Tc = 5 K at 1.9 GPa along the a-axis and with Tc = 5.6 K at 1.75 GPa along the b-axis. Superconductivity was also reproduced with a Tc of 9.5 K at 1.0 GPa for the c-axis compressions in the range of 0.85 to 1.53 GPa as previously reported. We studied tentative measurement on upper critical fields, Bc2's of these superconductivities and found that the extrapolated values, Bc2(0)'s, exceeded Pauli-limit by about 2--3 times. However, at least in terms of Bc2, the difference in superconductivity associated with two different insulating states was not clear.

Nature of the insulating ground state of the 5d postperovskite CaIrO 3

DOE PAGES

Kim, Sun -Woo; Liu, Chen; Kim, Hyun -Jung; ...

2015-08-26

In this study, the insulating ground state of the 5d transition metal oxide CaIrO 3 has been classified as a Mott-type insulator. Based on a systematic density functional theory (DFT) study with local, semilocal, and hybrid exchange-correlation functionals, we reveal that the Ir t 2g states exhibit large splittings and one-dimensional electronic states along the c axis due to a tetragonal crystal field. Our hybrid DFT calculation adequately describes the antiferromagnetic (AFM) order along the c direction via a superexchange interaction between Ir 4+ spins. Furthermore, the spin-orbit coupling (SOC) hybridizes the t 2g states to open an insulating gap.more » These results indicate that CaIrO 3 can be represented as a spin-orbit Slater insulator, driven by the interplay between a long-range AFM order and the SOC. Such a Slater mechanism for the gap formation is also demonstrated by the DFT + dynamical mean field theory calculation, where the metal-insulator transition and the paramagnetic to AFM phase transition are concomitant with each other.« less

Magnon Spin Hall Magnetoresistance of a Gapped Quantum Paramagnet.

PubMed

Ulloa, Camilo; Duine, R A

2018-04-27

Motivated by recent experimental work, we consider spin transport between a normal metal and a gapped quantum paramagnet. We model the latter as the magnonic Mott-insulating phase of an easy-plane ferromagnetic insulator. We evaluate the spin current mediated by the interface exchange coupling between the ferromagnet and the adjacent normal metal. For the strongly interacting magnons that we consider, this spin current gives rise to a spin Hall magnetoresistance that strongly depends on the magnitude of the magnetic field, rather than its direction. This Letter may motivate electrical detection of the phases of quantum magnets and the incorporation of such materials into spintronic devices.

Magnon Spin Hall Magnetoresistance of a Gapped Quantum Paramagnet

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ulloa, Camilo; Duine, R. A.

2018-04-01

Motivated by recent experimental work, we consider spin transport between a normal metal and a gapped quantum paramagnet. We model the latter as the magnonic Mott-insulating phase of an easy-plane ferromagnetic insulator. We evaluate the spin current mediated by the interface exchange coupling between the ferromagnet and the adjacent normal metal. For the strongly interacting magnons that we consider, this spin current gives rise to a spin Hall magnetoresistance that strongly depends on the magnitude of the magnetic field, rather than its direction. This Letter may motivate electrical detection of the phases of quantum magnets and the incorporation of such materials into spintronic devices.

Electron transport near the Mott transition in n-GaAs and n-GaN

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Romanets, P. N.; Sachenko, A. V.

2016-01-01

In this paper, we study the temperature dependence of the conductivity and the Hall coefficient near the metal-insulator phase transition. A theoretical investigation is performed within the effective mass approximation. The variational method is used to calculate the eigenvalues and eigenfunctions of the impurity states. Unlike previous studies, we have included nonlinear corrections to the screened impurity potential, because the Thomas-Fermi approximation is incorrect for the insulator phase. It is also shown that near the phase transition the exchange interaction is essential. The obtained temperature dependencies explain several experimental measurements in gallium arsenide (GaAs) and gallium nitride (GaN).

Electronic structure properties of UO2 as a Mott insulator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sheykhi, Samira; Payami, Mahmoud

2018-06-01

In this work using the density functional theory (DFT), we have studied the structural, electronic and magnetic properties of uranium dioxide with antiferromagnetic 1k-, 2k-, and 3k-order structures. Ordinary approximations in DFT, such as the local density approximation (LDA) or generalized gradient approximation (GGA), usually predict incorrect metallic behaviors for this strongly correlated electron system. Using Hubbard term correction for f-electrons, LDA+U method, as well as using the screened Heyd-Scuseria-Ernzerhof (HSE) hybrid functional for the exchange-correlation (XC), we have obtained the correct ground-state behavior as an insulator, with band gaps in good agreement with experiment.

Hybridization wave as the cause of the metal-insulator transition in rare earth nickelates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, Hyowon; Marianetti, Chris A.; Millis, Andrew J.

2012-02-01

The metal-insulator transition driven by varying rare earth (Re) ion in ReNiO3 has been a longstanding challenge to materials theory. Experimental evidence suggesting charge order is seemingly incompatible with the strong Mott-Hubbard correlations characteristic of transition metals. We present density functional, Hartree-Fock and Dynamical Mean field calculations showing that the origin of the insulating phase is a hybridization wave, in which a two sublattice ordering of the oxygen breathing mode produces two Ni sites with almost identical Ni d-charge densities but very different magnetic moments and other properties. The high temperature crystal structure associated with smaller Re ions such as Lu is shown to be more susceptible to the distortion than the high temperature structure associated with larger Re ions such as La.

Magnetic order in a frustrated two-dimensional atom lattice at a semiconductor surface.

PubMed

Li, Gang; Höpfner, Philipp; Schäfer, Jörg; Blumenstein, Christian; Meyer, Sebastian; Bostwick, Aaron; Rotenberg, Eli; Claessen, Ralph; Hanke, Werner

2013-01-01

Two-dimensional electron systems, as exploited for device applications, can lose their conducting properties because of local Coulomb repulsion, leading to a Mott-insulating state. In triangular geometries, any concomitant antiferromagnetic spin ordering can be prevented by geometric frustration, spurring speculations about 'melted' phases, known as spin liquid. Here we show that for a realization of a triangular electron system by epitaxial atom adsorption on a semiconductor, such spin disorder, however, does not appear. Our study compares the electron excitation spectra obtained from theoretical simulations of the correlated electron lattice with data from high-resolution photoemission. We find that an unusual row-wise antiferromagnetic spin alignment occurs that is reflected in the photoemission spectra as characteristic 'shadow bands' induced by the spin pattern. The magnetic order in a frustrated lattice of otherwise non-magnetic components emerges from longer-range electron hopping between the atoms. This finding can offer new ways of controlling magnetism on surfaces.

Theoretical studies of superconductivity in doped BaCoSO

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qin, Shengshan; Li, Yinxiang; Zhang, Qiang; Le, Congcong; Hu, Jiangping

2018-06-01

We investigate superconductivity that may exist in the doped BaCoSO, a multi-orbital Mott insulator with a strong antiferromagnetic ground state. The superconductivity is studied in both t-J type and Hubbard type multi-orbital models by mean field approach and random phase approximation (RPA) analysis. Even if there is no C 4 rotational symmetry, it is found that the system still carries a d-wave like pairing symmetry state with gapless nodes and sign changed superconducting order parameters on Fermi surfaces. The results are largely doping insensitive. In this superconducting state, the three {t_{{2_g}}} orbitals have very different superconducting form factors in momentum space. In particular, the intra-orbital pairing of the {d_{{x^2} - {y^2}}} orbital has an s-wave like pairing form factor. The two methods also predict very different pairing strength on different parts of Fermi surfaces. These results suggest that BaCoSO and related materials can be a new ground to test and establish fundamental principles for unconventional high temperature superconductivity.

Studies of electronic and magnetic properties of LaVO3 thin film

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jana, Anupam; Karwal, Sharad; Choudhary, R. J.; Phase, D. M.

2018-04-01

We have investigated the electronic and magnetic properties of pulsed laser deposited Mott insulator LaVO3 (LVO) thin film. Structural characterization revels the single phase [00l] oriented LVO thin film. Enhancement of out of plane lattice parameter indicates the compressively strained LVO film. Electron spectroscopic studies demonstrate that vanadium is present in V3+ state. An energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopic study ensures the stoichiometric growth of the film. Very smooth surface is observed in scanning electron micrograph. Colour mapping for elemental distribution reflect the homogeneity of LVO film. The bifurcation between zero-field-cooled and Field-cooled curves clearly points towards the weak ferromagnetic phase presence in compressively strained LVO thin film. A finite value of coercivity at 300 K reflects the possibility of room temperature ferromagnetism of LVO thin film.

Enhanced PEC performance of nanoporous Si photoelectrodes by covering HfO2 and TiO2 passivation layers

PubMed Central

Xing, Zhuo; Ren, Feng; Wu, Hengyi; Wu, Liang; Wang, Xuening; Wang, Jingli; Wan, Da; Zhang, Guozhen; Jiang, Changzhong

2017-01-01

Nanostructured Si as the high efficiency photoelectrode material is hard to keep stable in aqueous for water splitting. Capping a passivation layer on the surface of Si is an effective way of protecting from oxidation. However, it is still not clear in the different mechanisms and effects between insulating oxide materials and oxide semiconductor materials as passivation layers. Here, we compare the passivation effects, the photoelectrochemical (PEC) properties, and the corresponding mechanisms between the HfO2/nanoporous-Si and the TiO2/nanoporous-Si by I–V curves, Motte-schottky (MS) curves, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Although the saturated photocurrent densities of the TiO2/nanoporous Si are lower than that of the HfO2/nanoporous Si, the former is more stable than the later. PMID:28252106

Enhanced PEC performance of nanoporous Si photoelectrodes by covering HfO2 and TiO2 passivation layers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xing, Zhuo; Ren, Feng; Wu, Hengyi; Wu, Liang; Wang, Xuening; Wang, Jingli; Wan, Da; Zhang, Guozhen; Jiang, Changzhong

2017-03-01

Nanostructured Si as the high efficiency photoelectrode material is hard to keep stable in aqueous for water splitting. Capping a passivation layer on the surface of Si is an effective way of protecting from oxidation. However, it is still not clear in the different mechanisms and effects between insulating oxide materials and oxide semiconductor materials as passivation layers. Here, we compare the passivation effects, the photoelectrochemical (PEC) properties, and the corresponding mechanisms between the HfO2/nanoporous-Si and the TiO2/nanoporous-Si by I-V curves, Motte-schottky (MS) curves, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Although the saturated photocurrent densities of the TiO2/nanoporous Si are lower than that of the HfO2/nanoporous Si, the former is more stable than the later.

Enhanced PEC performance of nanoporous Si photoelectrodes by covering HfO2 and TiO2 passivation layers.

PubMed

Xing, Zhuo; Ren, Feng; Wu, Hengyi; Wu, Liang; Wang, Xuening; Wang, Jingli; Wan, Da; Zhang, Guozhen; Jiang, Changzhong

2017-03-02

Nanostructured Si as the high efficiency photoelectrode material is hard to keep stable in aqueous for water splitting. Capping a passivation layer on the surface of Si is an effective way of protecting from oxidation. However, it is still not clear in the different mechanisms and effects between insulating oxide materials and oxide semiconductor materials as passivation layers. Here, we compare the passivation effects, the photoelectrochemical (PEC) properties, and the corresponding mechanisms between the HfO 2 /nanoporous-Si and the TiO 2 /nanoporous-Si by I-V curves, Motte-schottky (MS) curves, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Although the saturated photocurrent densities of the TiO 2 /nanoporous Si are lower than that of the HfO 2 /nanoporous Si, the former is more stable than the later.

Theoretical/Computational Studies of High-Temperature Superconductivity from Quantum Magnetism

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-06-09

Rodriguez1 1Department of Physics and Astronomy , California State University, Los Angeles, California 90032 Abstract The symmetry of a single Cooper pair in...2014. 7. J.P. Rodriguez, “Collective Modes in Iron Superconductors from the Local Moment Limit” (invited talk), Department of Physics and Astronomy ...Are the New Class of Iron-Pnictide Superconductors Doped Mott Insulators?” (invited talk), Department of Physics and Astronomy , California State

Raman scattering in the RTiO3 family of Mott-Hubbard insulators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reedyk, M.; Crandles, D. A.; Cardona, M.; Garrett, J. D.; Greedan, J. E.

1997-01-01

Raman-scattering measurements have been carried out for crystals of the RTiO3 (R=La,Ce,Pr,Nd,Sm,Gd) system whose members are Mott-Hubbard insulators. RTiO3 has an orthorhombically distorted perovskite unit cell. The distortion increases systematically from LaTiO3 to GdTiO3 and is accompanied by changes in electronic structure (decreasing W/U ratio). As a consequence of the changing electronic properties, the Raman spectrum shows an interesting evolution of both the phonon features and the electronic continuum. Most notable are (1) a redistribution in the spectral shape of the electronic background, (2) a systematic change in line shape, and a dramatic increase in the center frequency of one of the phonon modes from 287 cm-1 in LaTiO3 to 385 cm-1 in GdTiO3, and (3) the observation of resonance effects in the most insulating members of the series. The appearance of a free-carrier component in the electronic-scattering background, which seems to be related to systematic self-energy effects of the phonon near 300 cm-1, is unexpected. It is likely the result of increased doping due to a greater facility for rare-earth vacancies to form in large R3+ ionic radius members of the series. A systematic increase in the continuum scattering rate is also observed and indicates that the free carriers are not scattering off rare-earth vacancies but rather that the scattering mechanism originates from changes in electronic structure.

Electronic properties of doped and defective NiO: A quantum Monte Carlo study

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Shin, Hyeondeok; Luo, Ye; Ganesh, Panchapakesan

NiO is a canonical Mott (or charge-transfer) insulator and as such is notoriously difficult to describe using density functional theory (DFT) based electronic structure methods. Doped Mott insulators such as NiO are of interest for various applications but rigorous theoretical descriptions are lacking. Here, we use quantum Monte Carlo methods, which very accurately include electron-electron interactions, to examine energetics, charge- and spin-structures of NiO with various point defects, such as vacancies or substitutional doping with potassium. The formation energy of a potassium dopant is significantly lower than for a Ni vacancy, making potassium an attractive monovalent dopant for NiO. Wemore » compare our results with DFT results that include an on-site Hubbard U (DFT+U) to account for correlations and find relatively large discrepancies for defect formation energies as well as for charge and spin redistributions in the presence of point defects. Finally, it is unlikely that single-parameter fixes of DFT may be able to obtain accurate accounts of anything but a single parameter, e.g., band gap; responses that, maybe in addition to the band gap, depend in subtle and complex ways on ground state properties, such as charge and spin densities, are likely to contain quantitative and qualitative errors.« less

Photoinduced coherent acoustic phonon dynamics inside Mott insulator Sr2IrO4 films observed by femtosecond X-ray pulses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Bing-Bing; Liu, Jian; Wei, Xu; Sun, Da-Rui; Jia, Quan-Jie; Li, Yuelin; Tao, Ye

2017-04-01

We investigate the transient photoexcited lattice dynamics in a layered perovskite Mott insulator Sr2IrO4 film by femtosecond X-ray diffraction using a laser plasma-based X-ray source. The ultrafast structural dynamics of Sr2IrO4 thin films are determined by observing the shift and broadening of (0012) Bragg diffraction after excitation by 1.5 eV and 3.0 eV pump photons for films with different thicknesses. The observed transient lattice response can be well interpreted as a distinct three-step dynamics due to the propagation of coherent acoustic phonons generated by photoinduced quasiparticles (QPs). Employing a normalized phonon propagation model, we found that the photoinduced angular shifts of the Bragg peak collapse into a universal curve after introducing normalized coordinates to account for different thicknesses and pump photon energies, pinpointing the origin of the lattice distortion and its early evolution. In addition, a transient photocurrent measurement indicates that the photoinduced QPs are charge neutral excitons. Mapping the phonon propagation and correlating its dynamics with the QP by ultrafast X-ray diffraction (UXRD) establish a powerful way to study electron-phonon coupling and uncover the exotic physics in strongly correlated systems under nonequilibrium conditions.

Phase diagram of the disordered Bose-Hubbard model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gurarie, V.; Pollet, L.; Prokof'Ev, N. V.; Svistunov, B. V.; Troyer, M.

2009-12-01

We establish the phase diagram of the disordered three-dimensional Bose-Hubbard model at unity filling which has been controversial for many years. The theorem of inclusions, proven by Pollet [Phys. Rev. Lett. 103, 140402 (2009)] states that the Bose-glass phase always intervenes between the Mott insulating and superfluid phases. Here, we note that assumptions on which the theorem is based exclude phase transitions between gapped (Mott insulator) and gapless phases (Bose glass). The apparent paradox is resolved through a unique mechanism: such transitions have to be of the Griffiths type when the vanishing of the gap at the critical point is due to a zero concentration of rare regions where extreme fluctuations of disorder mimic a regular gapless system. An exactly solvable random transverse field Ising model in one dimension is used to illustrate the point. A highly nontrivial overall shape of the phase diagram is revealed with the worm algorithm. The phase diagram features a long superfluid finger at strong disorder and on-site interaction. Moreover, bosonic superfluidity is extremely robust against disorder in a broad range of interaction parameters; it persists in random potentials nearly 50 (!) times larger than the particle half-bandwidth. Finally, we comment on the feasibility of obtaining this phase diagram in cold-atom experiments, which work with trapped systems at finite temperature.

Electronic properties of doped and defective NiO: A quantum Monte Carlo study

DOE PAGES

Shin, Hyeondeok; Luo, Ye; Ganesh, Panchapakesan; ...

2017-12-28

NiO is a canonical Mott (or charge-transfer) insulator and as such is notoriously difficult to describe using density functional theory (DFT) based electronic structure methods. Doped Mott insulators such as NiO are of interest for various applications but rigorous theoretical descriptions are lacking. Here, we use quantum Monte Carlo methods, which very accurately include electron-electron interactions, to examine energetics, charge- and spin-structures of NiO with various point defects, such as vacancies or substitutional doping with potassium. The formation energy of a potassium dopant is significantly lower than for a Ni vacancy, making potassium an attractive monovalent dopant for NiO. Wemore » compare our results with DFT results that include an on-site Hubbard U (DFT+U) to account for correlations and find relatively large discrepancies for defect formation energies as well as for charge and spin redistributions in the presence of point defects. Finally, it is unlikely that single-parameter fixes of DFT may be able to obtain accurate accounts of anything but a single parameter, e.g., band gap; responses that, maybe in addition to the band gap, depend in subtle and complex ways on ground state properties, such as charge and spin densities, are likely to contain quantitative and qualitative errors.« less

On the possibility of many-body localization in a doped Mott insulator

PubMed Central

He, Rong-Qiang; Weng, Zheng-Yu

2016-01-01

Many-body localization (MBL) is currently a hot issue of interacting systems, in which quantum mechanics overcomes thermalization of statistical mechanics. Like Anderson localization of non-interacting electrons, disorders are usually crucial in engineering the quantum interference in MBL. For translation invariant systems, however, the breakdown of eigenstate thermalization hypothesis due to a pure many-body quantum effect is still unclear. Here we demonstrate a possible MBL phenomenon without disorder, which emerges in a lightly doped Hubbard model with very strong interaction. By means of density matrix renormalization group numerical calculation on a two-leg ladder, we show that whereas a single hole can induce a very heavy Nagaoka polaron, two or more holes will form bound pair/droplets which are all localized excitations with flat bands at low energy densities. Consequently, MBL eigenstates of finite energy density can be constructed as composed of these localized droplets spatially separated. We further identify the underlying mechanism for this MBL as due to a novel ‘Berry phase’ of the doped Mott insulator, and show that by turning off this Berry phase either by increasing the anisotropy of the model or by hand, an eigenstate transition from the MBL to a conventional quasiparticle phase can be realized. PMID:27752064

Weyl Magnon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Fei-Ye; Li, Yao-Dong; Yu, Yue; Kim, Yong Baek; Balents, Leon; Chen, Gang

Conventional magnetic orders in Mott insulators are often believed to be trivial as they are simple product states. In this talk, we argue that this belief is not always right. We study a realistic spin model on the breathing pyrochlore lattice. We find that, although the system has a magnetic ordered ground state, the magnetic excitation is rather nontrivial and supports linear band touchings in its spectrum. This linear band touching is a topological property of the magnon band structure and is thus robust against small perturbation. We thus name this magnon band touching as ``Weyl magnon''. Just like the Weyl fermion, the existence of Weyl magnon suggests the presence of chiral magnon surface states. Unlike the surface Fermi arcs for the Weyl fermions, the chiral surface state for Weyl magnon appears at a finite energy due to the bosonic nature of the magnons. Moreover, the external magnetic field only couples to the spins with a Zeeman term and thus can readily shift the Weyl node position. This provides a way to control the Weyl magnon. Our work will inspire a re-examination of the excitation spectrum of many magnetic ordered systems. Chggst@gmail.com.

Electronic structures of C u 2 O , C u 4 O 3 , and CuO: A joint experimental and theoretical study

DOE PAGES

Wang, Y.; Lany, S.; Ghanbaja, J.; ...

2016-12-14

We present a joint experimental and theoretical study for the electronic structures of copper oxides including Cu 2O, CuO, and the metastable mixed-valence oxide Cu 4O 3. The optical band gap is determined by experimental optical absorption coefficient, and the electronic structure in valence and conduction bands is probed by photoemission and electron energy loss spectroscopies, respectively. Furthermore, we compare our experimental results with many-body GW calculations utilizing an additional on-site potential for d-orbital energies that facilitates tractable and predictive computations. The side-by-side comparison between the three oxides, including a band insulator (Cu2O) and two Mott/charge-transfer insulators (CuO, Cu 4Omore » 3) leads to a consistent picture for the optical and band-structure properties of the Cu oxides, strongly supporting indirect band gaps of about 1.2 and 0.8 eV in CuO and Cu 4O 3, respectively. This comparison also points towards surface oxidation and reduction effects that can complicate the interpretation of the photoemission spectra.« less

Strain-induced metal-insulator transitions in d1 perovskites within DFT+DMFT

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dymkowski, Krzysztof; Ederer, Claude

2014-03-01

We present results of combined density functional theory plus dynamical mean-field theory (DFT+DMFT) calculations, assessing the effect of epitaxial strain on the electronic properties of the Mott insulator LaTiO3 and the correlated metal SrVO3. In particular, we take into account the effect of strain on the collective tilts and rotations of the oxygen octahedra in the orthorhombically distorted Pbnm perovskite structure of LaTiO3. We find that LaTiO3 undergoes an insulator-to-metal transition under a compressive strain of about - 2 %, consistent with recent experimental observations. We show that this transition is driven mainly by strain-induced changes in the crystal-field splitting between the Ti t2 g orbitals, which in turn are related to changes in the octahedral tilt distortion. We compare this with the case of SrVO3, without octahedral tilts, where we find a metal-to-insulator transition under tensile epitaxial strain. Similar to LaTiO3, this metal-insulator transition is linked to the strain-induced change in the crystal-field splitting within the t2 g orbitals.

Mott-to-Goodenough insulator-insulator transition in LiVO2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Subedi, Alaska

2017-06-01

I critically examine Goodenough's explanation for the experimentally observed phase transition in LiVO2 using microscopic calculations based on density functional and dynamical mean field theories. The high-temperature rhombohedral phase exhibits both magnetic and dynamical instabilities. Allowing a magnetic solution for the rhombohedral structure does not open an insulating gap, and an explicit treatment of the on-site Coulomb U interaction is needed to stabilize an insulating rhombohedral phase. The non-spin-polarized phonon dispersions of the rhombohedral phase show two unstable phonon modes at the wave vector (1/3 ,-1/3 ,0 ) that corresponds to the experimentally observed trimer forming instability. A full relaxation of the supercell corresponding to this instability yields a nonmagnetic state containing V3 trimers. These results are consistent with Goodenough's suggestion that the high-temperature phase is in the localized-electron regime and the transition to the low-temperature phase in the itinerant-electron regime is driven by V-V covalency.

Phonon-induced ultrafast band gap control in LaTiO3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gu, Mingqiang; Rondinelli, James M.

We propose a route for ultrafast band gap engineering in correlated transition metal oxides by using optically driven phonons. We show that the ∖Gamma-point electron band energies can be deterministically tuned in the nonequilibrium state. Taking the Mott insulator LaTiO3 as an example, we show that such phonon-assisted processes dynamically induce an indirect-to-direct band gap transition or even a metal-to-insulator transition, depending on the electron correlation strength. We explain the origin of the dynamical band structure control and also establish its generality by examining related oxides. Lastly, we describe experimental routes to realize the band structure control with impulsive stimulated Raman scattering.

Electronic Reconstruction at the Isopolar LaTiO3/LaFeO3 Interface: An X-Ray Photoemission and Density-Functional Theory Study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kleibeuker, J. E.; Zhong, Z.; Nishikawa, H.; Gabel, J.; Müller, A.; Pfaff, F.; Sing, M.; Held, K.; Claessen, R.; Koster, G.; Rijnders, G.

2014-12-01

We report the formation of a nonmagnetic band insulator at the isopolar interface between the antiferromagnetic Mott-Hubbard insulator LaTiO3 and the antiferromagnetic charge transfer insulator LaFeO3. By density-functional theory calculations, we find that the formation of this interface state is driven by the combination of O band alignment and crystal field splitting energy of the t2 g and eg bands. As a result of these two driving forces, the Fe 3 d bands rearrange and electrons are transferred from Ti to Fe. This picture is supported by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, which confirms the rearrangement of the Fe 3 d bands and reveals an unprecedented charge transfer up to 1.2 ±0.2 e-/interface unit cell in our LaTiO3/LaFeO3 heterostructures.

Estimation of dc transport dynamics in strongly correlated (La,Pr,Ca)MnO{sub 3} film using an insulator-metal composite model for terahertz conductivity

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Nguyen, T. V. A.; Graduate School of Engineering Science, Osaka University, 1-3 Machikaneyama, Toyonaka, Osaka 560-8531; Hattori, A. N.

2014-07-14

Temperature-dependent conductivities at dc and terahertz (THz) frequency region (σ{sub THz}(ω,T)) were obtained for a strongly correlated (La{sub 0.275}Pr{sub 0.35}Ca{sub 0.375})MnO{sub 3} (LPCMO) film using THz time domain spectroscopy. A composite model that describes σ{sub THz}(ω,T) for LPCMO through the insulator-metal transition (IMT) was established by incorporating Austin-Mott model characterizing the hopping of localized electrons and Drude model explaining the behavior of free electrons. This model enables us to reliably investigate the dc transport dynamics from THz conductivity measurement, i.e., simultaneously evaluate the dc conductivity and the competing composition of metal and insulator phases through the IMT, reflecting the changesmore » in microscopic conductivity of these phases.« less

Tuning bad metal and non-Fermi liquid behavior in a Mott material: Rare-earth nickelate thin films

PubMed Central

Mikheev, Evgeny; Hauser, Adam J.; Himmetoglu, Burak; Moreno, Nelson E.; Janotti, Anderson; Van de Walle, Chris G.; Stemmer, Susanne

2015-01-01

Resistances that exceed the Mott-Ioffe-Regel limit (known as bad metal behavior) and non-Fermi liquid behavior are ubiquitous features of the normal state of many strongly correlated materials. We establish the conditions that lead to bad metal and non-Fermi liquid phases in NdNiO3, which exhibits a prototype bandwidth-controlled metal-insulator transition. We show that resistance saturation is determined by the magnitude of Ni eg orbital splitting, which can be tuned by strain in epitaxial films, causing the appearance of bad metal behavior under certain conditions. The results shed light on the nature of a crossover to a non-Fermi liquid metal phase and provide a predictive criterion for Anderson localization. They elucidate a seemingly complex phase behavior as a function of film strain and confinement and provide guidelines for orbital engineering and novel devices. PMID:26601140

Quantum gases. Observation of many-body dynamics in long-range tunneling after a quantum quench.

PubMed

Meinert, Florian; Mark, Manfred J; Kirilov, Emil; Lauber, Katharina; Weinmann, Philipp; Gröbner, Michael; Daley, Andrew J; Nägerl, Hanns-Christoph

2014-06-13

Quantum tunneling is at the heart of many low-temperature phenomena. In strongly correlated lattice systems, tunneling is responsible for inducing effective interactions, and long-range tunneling substantially alters many-body properties in and out of equilibrium. We observe resonantly enhanced long-range quantum tunneling in one-dimensional Mott-insulating Hubbard chains that are suddenly quenched into a tilted configuration. Higher-order tunneling processes over up to five lattice sites are observed as resonances in the number of doubly occupied sites when the tilt per site is tuned to integer fractions of the Mott gap. This forms a basis for a controlled study of many-body dynamics driven by higher-order tunneling and demonstrates that when some degrees of freedom are frozen out, phenomena that are driven by small-amplitude tunneling terms can still be observed. Copyright © 2014, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Vortex variable range hopping in a conventional superconducting film

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Percher, Ilana M.; Volotsenko, Irina; Frydman, Aviad; Shklovskii, Boris I.; Goldman, Allen M.

2017-12-01

The behavior of a disordered amorphous thin film of superconducting indium oxide has been studied as a function of temperature and magnetic field applied perpendicular to its plane. A superconductor-insulator transition has been observed, though the isotherms do not cross at a single point. The curves of resistance versus temperature on the putative superconducting side of this transition, where the resistance decreases with decreasing temperature, obey two-dimensional Mott variable-range hopping of vortices over wide ranges of temperature and resistance. To estimate the parameters of hopping, the film is modeled as a granular system and the hopping of vortices is treated in a manner analogous to hopping of charges. The reason the long-range interaction between vortices over the range of magnetic fields investigated does not lead to a stronger variation of resistance with temperature than that of two-dimensional Mott variable-range hopping remains unresolved.

The happy marriage between electron-phonon superconductivity and Mott physics in Cs3C60: A first-principle phase diagram

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Capone, Massimo; Nomura, Yusuke; Sakai, Shiro; Giovannetti, Gianluca; Arita, Ryotaro

The phase diagram of doped fullerides like Cs3C60 as a function of the spacing between fullerene molecules is characterized by a first-order transition between a Mott insulator and an s-wave superconductor with a dome-shaped behavior of the critical temperature. By means of an ab-initio modeling of the bandstructure, the electron-phonon interaction and the interaction parameter and a Dynamical Mean-Field Theory solution, we reproduce the phase diagram and demonstrate that phonon superconductivity benefits from strong correlations confirming earlier model predictions. The role of correlations is manifest also in infrared measurements carried out by L. Baldassarre. The superconducting phase shares many similarities with ''exotic'' superconductors with electronic pairing, suggesting that the anomalies in the ''normal'' state, rather than the pairing glue, can be the real common element unifying a wide family of strongly correlated superconductors including cuprates and iron superconductors

Strong correlation induced charge localization in antiferromagnets

PubMed Central

Zhu, Zheng; Jiang, Hong-Chen; Qi, Yang; Tian, Chushun; Weng, Zheng-Yu

2013-01-01

The fate of a hole injected in an antiferromagnet is an outstanding issue of strongly correlated physics. It provides important insights into doped Mott insulators closely related to high-temperature superconductivity. Here, we report a systematic numerical study of t-J ladder systems based on the density matrix renormalization group. It reveals a surprising result for the single hole's motion in an otherwise well-understood undoped system. Specifically, we find that the common belief of quasiparticle picture is invalidated by the self-localization of the doped hole. In contrast to Anderson localization caused by disorders, the charge localization discovered here is an entirely new phenomenon purely of strong correlation origin. It results from destructive quantum interference of novel signs picked up by the hole, and since the same effect is of a generic feature of doped Mott physics, our findings unveil a new paradigm which may go beyond the single hole doped system. PMID:24002668

Foundations of heavy-fermion superconductivity: lattice Kondo effect and Mott physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Steglich, Frank; Wirth, Steffen

2016-08-01

This article overviews the development of heavy-fermion superconductivity, notably in such rare-earth-based intermetallic compounds which behave as Kondo-lattice systems. Heavy-fermion superconductivity is of unconventional nature in the sense that it is not mediated by electron-phonon coupling. Rather, in most cases the attractive interaction between charge carriers is apparently magnetic in origin. Fluctuations associated with an antiferromagnetic (AF) quantum critical point (QCP) play a major role. The first heavy-fermion superconductor CeCu2Si2 turned out to be the prototype of a larger group of materials for which the underlying, often pressure-induced, AF QCP is likely to be of a three-dimensional (3D) spin-density-wave (SDW) variety. For UBe13, the second heavy-fermion superconductor, a magnetic-field-induced 3D SDW QCP inside the superconducting phase can be conjectured. Such a ‘conventional’, itinerant QCP can be well understood within Landau’s paradigm of order-parameter fluctuations. In contrast, the low-temperature normal-state properties of a few heavy-fermion superconductors are at odds with the Landau framework. They are characterized by an ‘unconventional’, local QCP which may be considered a zero-temperature 4 f-orbital selective Mott transition. Here, as concluded for YbRh2Si2, the breakdown of the Kondo effect concurring with the AF instability gives rise to an abrupt change of the Fermi surface. Very recently, superconductivity was discovered for this compound at ultra-low temperatures. Therefore, YbRh2Si2 along with CeRhIn5 under pressure provide a natural link between the large group of about fifty low-temperature heavy-fermion superconductors and other families of unconventional superconductors with substantially higher T c, e.g. the doped Mott insulators of the perovskite-type cuprates and the organic charge-transfer salts.

Electronic evidence of an insulator-superconductor crossover in single-layer FeSe/SrTiO3 films.

PubMed

He, Junfeng; Liu, Xu; Zhang, Wenhao; Zhao, Lin; Liu, Defa; He, Shaolong; Mou, Daixiang; Li, Fangsen; Tang, Chenjia; Li, Zhi; Wang, Lili; Peng, Yingying; Liu, Yan; Chen, Chaoyu; Yu, Li; Liu, Guodong; Dong, Xiaoli; Zhang, Jun; Chen, Chuangtian; Xu, Zuyan; Chen, Xi; Ma, Xucun; Xue, Qikun; Zhou, X J

2014-12-30

In high-temperature cuprate superconductors, it is now generally agreed that superconductivity is realized by doping an antiferromagnetic Mott (charge transfer) insulator. The doping-induced insulator-to-superconductor transition has been widely observed in cuprates, which provides important information for understanding the superconductivity mechanism. In the iron-based superconductors, however, the parent compound is mostly antiferromagnetic bad metal, raising a debate on whether an appropriate starting point should go with an itinerant picture or a localized picture. No evidence of doping-induced insulator-superconductor transition (or crossover) has been reported in the iron-based compounds so far. Here, we report an electronic evidence of an insulator-superconductor crossover observed in the single-layer FeSe film grown on a SrTiO3 substrate. By taking angle-resolved photoemission measurements on the electronic structure and energy gap, we have identified a clear evolution of an insulator to a superconductor with increasing carrier concentration. In particular, the insulator-superconductor crossover in FeSe/SrTiO3 film exhibits similar behaviors to that observed in the cuprate superconductors. Our results suggest that the observed insulator-superconductor crossover may be associated with the two-dimensionality that enhances electron localization or correlation. The reduced dimensionality and the interfacial effect provide a new pathway in searching for new phenomena and novel superconductors with a high transition temperature.

Metal-Insulator Transition of strained SmNiO3 Thin Films: Structural, Electrical and Optical Properties

PubMed Central

Torriss, B.; Margot, J.; Chaker, M.

2017-01-01

Samarium nickelate (SmNiO3) thin films were successfully synthesized on LaAlO3 and SrTiO3 substrates using pulsed-laser deposition. The Mott metal-insulator (MI) transition of the thin films is sensitive to epitaxial strain and strain relaxation. Once the strain changes from compressive to tensile, the transition temperature of the SmNiO3 samples shifts to slightly higher values. The optical conductivity reveals the strong dependence of the Drude spectral weight on the strain relaxation. Actually, compressive strain broadens the bandwidth. In contrast, tensile strain causes the effective number of free carriers to reduce which is consistent with the d-band narrowing. PMID:28098240

Unconventional Magnetism and Band Gap Formation in LiFePO4: Consequence of Polyanion Induced Non-planarity.

PubMed

Jena, Ajit; Nanda, B R K

2016-01-21

Oxygen plays a critical role in strongly correlated transition metal oxides as crystal field effect is one of the key factors that determine the degree of localization of the valence d/f states. Based on the localization, a set of conventional mechanisms such as Mott-Hubbard, Charge-transfer and Slater were formulated to explain the antiferromagnetic and insulating (AFI) phenomena in many of these correlated systems. From the case study on LiFePO4, through density-functional calculations, we demonstrate that none of these mechanisms are strictly applicable to explain the AFI behavior when the transition metal oxides have polyanions such as (PO4)(3-). The symmetry-lowering of the metal-oxygen complex, to stabilize the polyanion, creates an asymmetric crystal field for d/f states. In LiFePO4 this field creates completely non-degenerate Fe-d states which, with negligible p-d and d-d covalent interactions, become atomically localized to ensure a gap at the Fermi level. Due to large exchange splitting, high spin state is favored and an antiferromagnetic configuration is stabilized. For the prototype LiFePO4, independent electron approximation is good enough to obtain the AFI ground state. Inclusion of additional correlation measures like Hubbard U simply amplifies the gap and therefore LiFePO4 can be preferably called as weakly coupled Mott insulator.

Unconventional Magnetism and Band Gap Formation in LiFePO4: Consequence of Polyanion Induced Non-planarity

PubMed Central

Jena, Ajit; Nanda, B. R. K.

2016-01-01

Oxygen plays a critical role in strongly correlated transition metal oxides as crystal field effect is one of the key factors that determine the degree of localization of the valence d/f states. Based on the localization, a set of conventional mechanisms such as Mott-Hubbard, Charge-transfer and Slater were formulated to explain the antiferromagnetic and insulating (AFI) phenomena in many of these correlated systems. From the case study on LiFePO4, through density-functional calculations, we demonstrate that none of these mechanisms are strictly applicable to explain the AFI behavior when the transition metal oxides have polyanions such as (PO4)3−. The symmetry-lowering of the metal-oxygen complex, to stabilize the polyanion, creates an asymmetric crystal field for d/f states. In LiFePO4 this field creates completely non-degenerate Fe-d states which, with negligible p-d and d-d covalent interactions, become atomically localized to ensure a gap at the Fermi level. Due to large exchange splitting, high spin state is favored and an antiferromagnetic configuration is stabilized. For the prototype LiFePO4, independent electron approximation is good enough to obtain the AFI ground state. Inclusion of additional correlation measures like Hubbard U simply amplifies the gap and therefore LiFePO4 can be preferably called as weakly coupled Mott insulator. PMID:26791249

DFT with larger supercells explains the band gap formation in the antiferromagnetic and paramagnetic phases of the Mott insulators MnO, FeO, CoO, and NiO

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zunger, Alex; Trimarchi, Giancarlo

The existence of large band gaps both in the antiferromagnetic (AFM) and the paramagnetic (PM) phases of the classic Mott insulators MnO, FeO, CoO, and NiO has traditionally been discussed in terms of theoretical methods requiring both (i) simple (often primitive) unit cells and (ii) correlated-electron methodologies. We show that if condition (i) is avoided (by using supercells, such as PM special quasi-random structures, in which chemically identical atoms can have different local environments), then even without condition (ii) one can describe the gaps and moments within a single-determinant DFT band structure approach. In this approach gapping is caused by basic structure, magnetism, and bonding effects underlying DFT, not via dynamic correlation (absent from DFT). As long as correlation is simplistically considered as ``anything that DFT does not get right'', gap formation in the AFM and PM phases is not due to correlation. This result defines the minimal theoretical methods needed to explain gapping and points to the possibility that some transition-metal oxides generally considered to have localized electrons detrimental to transport, could, in fact, rejoin the family of electronic semiconductors, to the benefit of a carrier transport technologies. A. Z. supported by DOE-OS-BES-MSE, Grant DE-FG02-13ER46959.

Finite temperature quantum critical transport near the Mott transition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Terletska, Hanna; Dobrosavljevic, Vladimir

2010-03-01

We use Dynamical Mean-Field Theory to study incoherent transport above the critical end-point temperature Tc of the single band Hubbard model at half-filling. By employing an eigenvalue analysis for the free energy functional, we are able to precisely identify the crossover temperature T*(U) separating the Fermi liquid and the Mott insulating regimes. Our calculations demonstrate that a broad parameter range exist around the crossover line, where the family of resistivity curves displays simple scaling behavior. This is interpreted as a manifestation of quantum criticality controlled by the T=0 Mott transition, which is ``interrupted'' by the emergence of the coexistence dome at T < Tc . We argue that in situations where the critical temperature Tc is significantly reduced, so that the coexistence region is reduced or even absent (as in two-band, particle-hole asymmetric models, where this is found even in the clean d->∞ limit [1, 2]), similar critical scaling properties should persist down to much lower temperatures, resembling quantum critical transport similar to that found in a number of experiments [2]. [1] A. Amaricci, G. Sordi, and M. J. Rosenberg, Phys. Rev. Lett. 101, 146403 (2008) [2] A. Camjayi, K. Haule, V. Dobrosavljevic, and G. Kotliar, Nature Physics, 4, 932 (2008)

Magnetic states, correlation effects and metal-insulator transition in FCC lattice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Timirgazin, M. A.; Igoshev, P. A.; Arzhnikov, A. K.; Irkhin, V. Yu

2016-12-01

The ground-state magnetic phase diagram (including collinear and spiral states) of the single-band Hubbard model for the face-centered cubic lattice and related metal-insulator transition (MIT) are investigated within the slave-boson approach by Kotliar and Ruckenstein. The correlation-induced electron spectrum narrowing and a comparison with a generalized Hartree-Fock approximation allow one to estimate the strength of correlation effects. This, as well as the MIT scenario, depends dramatically on the ratio of the next-nearest and nearest electron hopping integrals {{t}\\prime}/t . In contrast with metallic state, possessing substantial band narrowing, insulator one is only weakly correlated. The magnetic (Slater) scenario of MIT is found to be superior over the Mott one. Unlike simple and body-centered cubic lattices, MIT is the first order transition (discontinuous) for most {{t}\\prime}/t . The insulator state is type-II or type-III antiferromagnet, and the metallic state is spin-spiral, collinear antiferromagnet or paramagnet depending on {{t}\\prime}/t . The picture of magnetic ordering is compared with that in the standard localized-electron (Heisenberg) model.

Dynamic Jahn-Teller effect in the parent insulating state of the molecular superconductor Cs₃C₆₀.

PubMed

Klupp, Gyöngyi; Matus, Péter; Kamarás, Katalin; Ganin, Alexey Y; McLennan, Alec; Rosseinsky, Matthew J; Takabayashi, Yasuhiro; McDonald, Martin T; Prassides, Kosmas

2012-06-19

The 'expanded fulleride' Cs(3)C(60) is an antiferromagnetic insulator in its normal state and becomes a molecular superconductor with T(c) as high as 38 K under pressure. There is mounting evidence that superconductivity is not of the conventional BCS type and electron-electron interactions are essential for its explanation. Here we present evidence for the dynamic Jahn-Teller effect as the source of the dramatic change in electronic structure occurring during the transition from the metallic to the localized state. We apply infrared spectroscopy, which can detect subtle changes in the shape of the C(60)3- ion due to the Jahn-Teller distortion. The temperature dependence of the spectra in the insulating phase can be explained by the gradual transformation from two temperature-dependent solid-state conformers to a single one, typical and unique for Jahn-Teller systems. These results unequivocally establish the relevance of the dynamic Jahn-Teller effect to overcoming Hund's rule and forming a low-spin state, leading to a magnetic Mott-Jahn-Teller insulator.

Semiconductor of spinons: from Ising band insulator to orthogonal band insulator.

PubMed

Farajollahpour, T; Jafari, S A

2018-01-10

We use the ionic Hubbard model to study the effects of strong correlations on a two-dimensional semiconductor. The spectral gap in the limit where on-site interactions are zero is set by the staggered ionic potential, while in the strong interaction limit it is set by the Hubbard U. Combining mean field solutions of the slave spin and slave rotor methods, we propose two interesting gapped phases in between: (i) the insulating phase before the Mott phase can be viewed as gapping a non-Fermi liquid state of spinons by the staggered ionic potential. The quasi-particles of underlying spinons are orthogonal to physical electrons, giving rise to the 'ARPES-dark' state where the ARPES gap will be larger than the optical and thermal gap. (ii) The Ising insulator corresponding to ordered phase of the Ising variable is characterized by single-particle excitations whose dispersion is controlled by Ising-like temperature and field dependences. The temperature can be conveniently employed to drive a phase transition between these two insulating phases where Ising exponents become measurable by ARPES and cyclotron resonance. The rare earth monochalcogenide semiconductors where the magneto-resistance is anomalously large can be a candidate system for the Ising band insulator. We argue that the Ising and orthogonal insulating phases require strong enough ionic potential to survive the downward renormalization of the ionic potential caused by Hubbard U.

Semiconductor of spinons: from Ising band insulator to orthogonal band insulator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Farajollahpour, T.; Jafari, S. A.

2018-01-01

We use the ionic Hubbard model to study the effects of strong correlations on a two-dimensional semiconductor. The spectral gap in the limit where on-site interactions are zero is set by the staggered ionic potential, while in the strong interaction limit it is set by the Hubbard U. Combining mean field solutions of the slave spin and slave rotor methods, we propose two interesting gapped phases in between: (i) the insulating phase before the Mott phase can be viewed as gapping a non-Fermi liquid state of spinons by the staggered ionic potential. The quasi-particles of underlying spinons are orthogonal to physical electrons, giving rise to the ‘ARPES-dark’ state where the ARPES gap will be larger than the optical and thermal gap. (ii) The Ising insulator corresponding to ordered phase of the Ising variable is characterized by single-particle excitations whose dispersion is controlled by Ising-like temperature and field dependences. The temperature can be conveniently employed to drive a phase transition between these two insulating phases where Ising exponents become measurable by ARPES and cyclotron resonance. The rare earth monochalcogenide semiconductors where the magneto-resistance is anomalously large can be a candidate system for the Ising band insulator. We argue that the Ising and orthogonal insulating phases require strong enough ionic potential to survive the downward renormalization of the ionic potential caused by Hubbard U.

How the Mott and pseudogap states coalesce beneath the superconductor Dome

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cabo Montes de Oca, Alejandro; Cabo-Bizet, Alejandro; Martinez, Victor; Vielza, Yoandri; Collaboration Team Team

Former results of a Tight-Binding (TB) model of CuO planes in La2CuO4 are reviewed to underline their wider implications. It is noted that physical systems being appropriately described by the TB model can exhibit the main strongly correlated electron system (SCES) properties, when they are solved in the HF approximation, by also allowing crystal symmetry breaking effects and non-collinear spin orientations of the HF orbitals. In particular, it is argued how a simple 2D square lattice system of Coulomb interacting electrons can exhibit insulator gaps and pseudogap states, and quantum phase transitions as illustrated by the mentioned former works. These results allow to understand the nature of the observed quantum phase transition laying ``beneath'' the superconducting Dome. It corresponds to coalescence under hole doping increase, of an insulator ground state (with a highly degenerated spin order) with an excited pseudogap state, showing a lattice order symmetry breaking. The evolution of the band structure and Fermi surface with doping are determined. This abstract is associated to an invited talk of the March Meeting after being accepted. If it is not accepted as talk, we request to be considered as an oral presentation. The argue for it is in the invited talk application (Session Ctrl #:97854).

Frustration and quantum criticality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vojta, Matthias

2018-06-01

This review article is devoted to the interplay between frustrated magnetism and quantum critical phenomena, covering both theoretical concepts and ideas as well as recent experimental developments in correlated-electron materials. The first part deals with local-moment magnetism in Mott insulators and the second part with frustration in metallic systems. In both cases, frustration can either induce exotic phases accompanied by exotic quantum critical points or lead to conventional ordering with unconventional crossover phenomena. In addition, the competition of multiple phases inherent to frustrated systems can lead to multi-criticality.

Nonlinear Hall effect and multichannel conduction in LaTiO3/SrTiO3 superlattices

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kim, Jun Sung; Seo, Sung Seok A; Chisholm, Matthew F

2010-01-01

We report magnetotransport properties of heterointerfaces between the Mott insulator LaTiO{sub 3} and the band insulator SrTiO{sub 3} in a delta-doping geometry. At low temperatures, we have found a strong nonlinearity in the magnetic field dependence of the Hall resistivity, which can be effectively controlled by varying the temperature and the electric field. We attribute this effect to multichannel conduction of interfacial charges generated by an electronic reconstruction. In particular, the formation of a highly mobile conduction channel revealed by our data is explained by the greatly increased dielectric permeability of SrTiO{sub 3} at low temperatures and its electric fieldmore » dependence reflects the spatial distribution of the quasi-two-dimensional electron gas.« less

Optical study of the free-carrier response of LaTiO3/SrTiO3 superlattices.

PubMed

Seo, S S A; Choi, W S; Lee, H N; Yu, L; Kim, K W; Bernhard, C; Noh, T W

2007-12-31

We used infrared spectroscopic ellipsometry to investigate the electronic properties of LaTiO_{3}/SrTiO_{3} superlattices (SLs). Our results indicated that, independent of the SL periodicity and individual layer thickness, the SLs exhibited a Drude metallic response with sheet carrier density per interface approximately 3x10;{14} cm;{-2}. This is probably due to the leakage of d electrons at interfaces from the Mott insulator LaTiO3 to the band insulator SrTiO3. We observed a carrier relaxation time approximately 35 fs and mobility approximately 35 cm;{2} V-1 s;{-1} at 10 K, and an unusual temperature dependence of carrier density that was attributed to the dielectric screening of quantum paraelectric SrTiO3.

BCS Theory of Time-Reversal-Symmetric Hofstadter-Hubbard Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Umucalılar, R. O.; Iskin, M.

2017-08-01

The competition between the length scales associated with the periodicity of a lattice potential and the cyclotron radius of a uniform magnetic field is known to have dramatic effects on the single-particle properties of a quantum particle, e.g., the fractal spectrum is known as the Hofstadter butterfly. Having this intricate competition in mind, we consider a two-component Fermi gas on a square optical lattice with opposite synthetic magnetic fields for the components, and study its effects on the many-body BCS-pairing phenomenon. By a careful addressing of the distinct superfluid transitions from the semimetal, quantum spin-Hall insulator, or normal phases, we explore the low-temperature phase diagrams of the model, displaying lobe structures that are reminiscent of the well-known Mott-insulator transitions of the Bose-Hubbard model.

A Review on Disorder-Driven Metal–Insulator Transition in Crystalline Vacancy-Rich GeSbTe Phase-Change Materials

PubMed Central

Wang, Jiang-Jing; Xu, Ya-Zhi; Mazzarello, Riccardo; Wuttig, Matthias; Zhang, Wei

2017-01-01

Metal–insulator transition (MIT) is one of the most essential topics in condensed matter physics and materials science. The accompanied drastic change in electrical resistance can be exploited in electronic devices, such as data storage and memory technology. It is generally accepted that the underlying mechanism of most MITs is an interplay of electron correlation effects (Mott type) and disorder effects (Anderson type), and to disentangle the two effects is difficult. Recent progress on the crystalline Ge1Sb2Te4 (GST) compound provides compelling evidence for a disorder-driven MIT. In this work, we discuss the presence of strong disorder in GST, and elucidate its effects on electron localization and transport properties. We also show how the degree of disorder in GST can be reduced via thermal annealing, triggering a disorder-driven metal–insulator transition. The resistance switching by disorder tuning in crystalline GST may enable novel multilevel data storage devices. PMID:28773222

A Review on Disorder-Driven Metal-Insulator Transition in Crystalline Vacancy-Rich GeSbTe Phase-Change Materials.

PubMed

Wang, Jiang-Jing; Xu, Ya-Zhi; Mazzarello, Riccardo; Wuttig, Matthias; Zhang, Wei

2017-07-27

Metal-insulator transition (MIT) is one of the most essential topics in condensed matter physics and materials science. The accompanied drastic change in electrical resistance can be exploited in electronic devices, such as data storage and memory technology. It is generally accepted that the underlying mechanism of most MITs is an interplay of electron correlation effects (Mott type) and disorder effects (Anderson type), and to disentangle the two effects is difficult. Recent progress on the crystalline Ge₁Sb₂Te₄ (GST) compound provides compelling evidence for a disorder-driven MIT. In this work, we discuss the presence of strong disorder in GST, and elucidate its effects on electron localization and transport properties. We also show how the degree of disorder in GST can be reduced via thermal annealing, triggering a disorder-driven metal-insulator transition. The resistance switching by disorder tuning in crystalline GST may enable novel multilevel data storage devices.

Covalency and the metal-insulator transition in titanate and vanadate perovskites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dang, Hung T.; Millis, Andrew J.; Marianetti, Chris A.

2014-04-01

A combination of density functional and dynamical mean-field theory is applied to the perovskites SrVO3, LaTiO3, and LaVO3. We show that DFT + DMFT in conjunction with the standard fully localized-limit (FLL) double-counting predicts that LaTiO3 and LaVO3 are metals even though experimentally they are correlation-driven ("Mott") insulators. In addition, the FLL double counting implies a splitting between oxygen p and transition metal d levels, which differs from experiment. Introducing into the theory an ad hoc double counting correction, which reproduces the experimentally measured insulating gap leads also to a p-d splitting consistent with experiment if the on-site interaction U is chosen in a relatively narrow range (˜6±1 eV). The results indicate that these early transition metal oxides will serve as critical test for the formulation of a general ab initio theory of correlated electron metals.

Strongly correlated superconductivity and quantum criticality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tremblay, A.-M. S.

Doped Mott insulators and doped charge-transfer insulators describe classes of materials that can exhibit unconventional superconducting ground states. Examples include the cuprates and the layered organic superconductors of the BEDT family. I present results obtained from plaquette cellular dynamical mean-field theory. Continuous-time quantum Monte Carlo evaluation of the hybridization expansion allows one to study the models in the large interaction limit where quasiparticles can disappear. The normal state which is unstable to the superconducting state exhibits a first-order transition between a pseudogap and a correlated metal phase. That transition is the finite-doping extension of the metal-insulator transition obtained at half-filling. This transition serves as an organizing principle for the normal and superconducting states of both cuprates and doped organic superconductors. In the less strongly correlated limit, these methods also describe the more conventional case where the superconducting dome surrounds an antiferromagnetic quantum critical point. Sponsored by NSERC RGPIN-2014-04584, CIFAR, Research Chair in the Theory of Quantum Materials.

Spin-polarized two-dimensional electron gas at GdTi O3/SrTi O3 interfaces: Insight from first-principles calculations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Betancourt, J.; Paudel, T. R.; Tsymbal, E. Y.; Velev, J. P.

2017-07-01

Two-dimensional electron gases (2DEGs) at oxide interfaces have been a topic of intensive research due to their high carrier mobility and strong confinement. Additionally, strong correlations in the oxide materials can give rise to new and interesting physics, such as magnetism and metal-insulator transitions at the interface. Using first-principles calculations based on density functional theory, we demonstrate the presence of a highly spin-polarized 2DEG at the interface between the Mott insulator GdTi O3 and a band insulator SrTi O3 . The strong correlations in the dopant cause ferromagnetic alignment of the interface Ti atoms and result in a fully spin-polarized 2DEG. The 2DEG consists of two types of carriers distinguished by their orbital character. The majority of the interface charge is strongly localized on the Ti dx y orbitals at the interface and a smaller fraction resides on the delocalized Ti dx z ,y z states.

Finite-temperature dynamics of the Mott insulating Hubbard chain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nocera, Alberto; Essler, Fabian H. L.; Feiguin, Adrian E.

2018-01-01

We study the dynamical response of the half-filled one-dimensional Hubbard model for a range of interaction strengths U and temperatures T by a combination of numerical and analytical techniques. Using time-dependent density matrix renormalization group computations we find that the single-particle spectral function undergoes a crossover to a spin-incoherent Luttinger liquid regime at temperatures T ˜J =4 t2/U for sufficiently large U >4 t . At smaller values of U and elevated temperatures the spectral function is found to exhibit two thermally broadened bands of excitations, reminiscent of what is found in the Hubbard-I approximation. The dynamical density-density response function is shown to exhibit a finite-temperature resonance at low frequencies inside the Mott gap, with a physical origin similar to the Villain mode in gapped quantum spin chains. We complement our numerical computations by developing an analytic strong-coupling approach to the low-temperature dynamics in the spin-incoherent regime.

Phase diagrams and Hofstadter butterflies in the strongly correlated bosonic systems on the lattices with Dirac points

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sajna, A. S.; Polak, T. P.

2018-06-01

Gauge potentials with different configurations have been recently realized in the optical lattice experiments. It is remarkable that one of the simplest gauge potential can generate particle energy spectrum with the self-similar structure known as a Hofstadter butterfly. We investigate theoretically the impact of strong on-site interaction on such a spectrum in the bosonic Mott insulator within Bose-Hubbard model. In particular, it is shown that the fractal structure is encoded in the quasi-particle and hole bosonic branches for different lattice backgrounds. For example a square lattice and other structures (brick-wall and staggered magnetic flux lattice) which contain Dirac points in energy dispersions are considered. This shows that single-particle physics is still present even in the strong interaction limit for whole Hofstadter spectrum. Additionally we observe, that although in brick-wall and staggered flux lattices the quasi-particle densities of states look qualitatively similar, the corresponding Hofstadter butterfly assumes different forms. In particular, we use a superposition of two different synthetic gauge fields which appears to be a generator of non-trivial phenomena in the optical lattice systems. We also discuss the consequences of these phenomena on the phase diagrams between bosonic Mott insulator and superfluid phase. The analysis is carried out within the strong coupling expansion method on the finite size lattices and also at finite temperatures which are relevant for the currently made experiments.

High-pressure versus isoelectronic doping effect on the honeycomb iridate Na2IrO3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hermann, V.; Ebad-Allah, J.; Freund, F.; Pietsch, I. M.; Jesche, A.; Tsirlin, A. A.; Deisenhofer, J.; Hanfland, M.; Gegenwart, P.; Kuntscher, C. A.

2017-11-01

We study the effect of isoelectronic doping and external pressure in tuning the ground state of the honeycomb iridate Na2IrO3 by combining optical spectroscopy with synchrotron x-ray diffraction measurements on single crystals. The obtained optical conductivity of Na2IrO3 is discussed in terms of a Mott-insulating picture versus the formation of quasimolecular orbitals and in terms of Kitaev interactions. With increasing Li content x , (Na1 -xLix )2IrO3 moves deeper into the Mott-insulating regime, and there are indications that up to a doping level of 24% the compound comes closer to the Kitaev limit. The optical conductivity spectrum of single-crystalline α -Li2IrO3 does not follow the trends observed for the series up to x =0.24 . There are strong indications that α -Li2IrO3 is not as close to the Kitaev limit as Na2IrO3 and lies closer to the quasimolecular orbital picture instead. Except for the pressure-induced hardening of the phonon modes, the optical properties of Na2IrO3 seem to be robust against external pressure. Possible explanations of the unexpected evolution of the optical conductivity with isolectronic doping and the drastic change between x =0.24 and x =1 are given by comparing the pressure-induced changes of lattice parameters and the optical conductivity with the corresponding changes induced by doping.

Dynamical cluster approximation plus semiclassical approximation study for a Mott insulator and d-wave pairing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, SungKun; Lee, Hunpyo

2017-06-01

Via a dynamical cluster approximation with N c = 4 in combination with a semiclassical approximation (DCA+SCA), we study the doped two-dimensional Hubbard model. We obtain a plaquette antiferromagnetic (AF) Mott insulator, a plaquette AF ordered metal, a pseudogap (or d-wave superconductor) and a paramagnetic metal by tuning the doping concentration. These features are similar to the behaviors observed in copper-oxide superconductors and are in qualitative agreement with the results calculated by the cluster dynamical mean field theory with the continuous-time quantum Monte Carlo (CDMFT+CTQMC) approach. The results of our DCA+SCA differ from those of the CDMFT+CTQMC approach in that the d-wave superconducting order parameters are shown even in the high doped region, unlike the results of the CDMFT+CTQMC approach. We think that the strong plaquette AF orderings in the dynamical cluster approximation (DCA) with N c = 4 suppress superconducting states with increasing doping up to strongly doped region, because frozen dynamical fluctuations in a semiclassical approximation (SCA) approach are unable to destroy those orderings. Our calculation with short-range spatial fluctuations is initial research, because the SCA can manage long-range spatial fluctuations in feasible computational times beyond the CDMFT+CTQMC tool. We believe that our future DCA+SCA calculations should supply information on the fully momentum-resolved physical properties, which could be compared with the results measured by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy experiments.

Wide gap Chern Mott insulating phases achieved by design

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, Hongli; Gangopadhyay, Shruba; Koeksal, Okan; Pentcheva, Rossitza; Pickett, Warren E.

Chern insulators are exciting both as a novel electronic phase and for their novel and potentially useful boundary transport properties. Honeycomb lattices occupied by heavy transition metal ions,have been proposed by Okamoto and coworkers as Chern insulators, but finding a concrete example has been challenging due to an assortment of broken symmetry phases that thwart the topological character. Building on accumulated knowledge of the behavior of the 3 d series, we tune spin-orbit and interaction strength together with strain to design two Chern insulator systems (one with Ru, one with Os) with bandgaps up to 130 meV and Chern numbers calC = - 1 and calC = 2 . We find, in this class, that a trade-off between larger spin-orbit coupling and strong interactions leads to a larger gap, whereas the stronger SOC correlates with the larger magnitude of the Hall conductivity. Symmetry lowering in the course of structural relaxation hampers retaining QAH character, as pointed out previously. Fortunately there is only mild structural symmetry breaking of the bilayer in these robust Chern phases.Recent (111) growth of insulating, magnetic phases in closely related materials with this orientation supports the likelihood that synthesis and exploitation will follow. Supported partially by the NSF DMREF program.

Electronic and optical properties of La-doped S r3I r2O7 epitaxial thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Souri, M.; Terzic, J.; Johnson, J. M.; Connell, J. G.; Gruenewald, J. H.; Thompson, J.; Brill, J. W.; Hwang, J.; Cao, G.; Seo, A.

2018-02-01

We have investigated structural, transport, and optical properties of tensile strained (Sr1-xL ax ) 3I r2O7 (x =0 , 0.025, 0.05) epitaxial thin films. While high-Tc superconductivity is predicted theoretically in the system, we have observed that all of the samples remain insulating with finite optical gap energies and Mott variable-range hopping characteristics in transport. Cross-sectional scanning transmission electron microscopy indicates that structural defects such as stacking faults appear in this system. The insulating behavior of the La-doped S r3I r2O7 thin films is presumably due to disorder-induced localization and ineffective electron doping of La, which brings to light the intriguing difference between epitaxial thin films and bulk single crystals of the iridates.

Antiferromagnetic Ordering in Organic Conductor λ-(BEDT-TTF)2GaCl4 Probed by 13C NMR

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saito, Yohei; Fukuoka, Shuhei; Kobayashi, Takuya; Kawamoto, Atsushi; Mori, Hatsumi

2018-01-01

The ground state of λ-(BEDT-TTF)2GaCl4, which has the same structure as the organic superconductor λ-(BETS)2GaCl4, was investigated by magnetic susceptibility and 13C NMR measurements. The temperature dependence of the magnetic susceptibility revealed an antiferromagnetic (AF) correlation with J/kB ≃ 98 K. NMR spectrum splitting and the divergence of 1/T1 were observed at approximately 13 K, which is associated with the AF transition. We found that the AF structure is commensurate according to discrete NMR peak splitting, suggesting that the ground state of λ-(BEDT-TTF)2GaCl4 is an AF dimer-Mott insulating state. Our results suggest that the superconducting phase of λ-type salts would be located near the AF insulating phase.

Metallic conductance at the interface of tri-color titanate superlattices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kareev, M.; Cao, Yanwei; Liu, Xiaoran; Middey, S.; Meyers, D.; Chakhalian, J.

2013-12-01

Ultra-thin tri-color (tri-layer) titanate superlattices ([3 u.c. LaTiO3/2 u.c. SrTiO3/3 u.c. YTiO3], u.c. = unit cells) were grown in a layer-by-layer way on single crystal TbScO3 (110) substrates by pulsed laser deposition. High sample quality and electronic structure were characterized by the combination of in-situ photoelectron and ex-situ structure and surface morphology probes. Temperature-dependent sheet resistance indicates the presence of metallic interfaces in both [3 u.c. LaTiO3/2 u.c. SrTiO3] bi-layers and all the tri-color structures, whereas a [3 u.c. YTiO3/2 u.c. SrTiO3] bi-layer shows insulating behavior. Considering that in the bulk YTiO3 is ferromagnetic below 30 K, the tri-color titanate superlattices provide an opportunity to induce tunable spin-polarization into the two-dimensional electron gas with Mott carriers.

Evidence for intertwined superfluid and density wave order in two dimensional 4He

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saunders, John

2015-03-01

We report the identification of a new state of quantum matter with intertwined superfluid and density wave order in a system of two dimensional bosons subject to a triangular lattice potential. Using a torsional oscillator we have measured the response of the second atomic layer of 4He adsorbed on the surface of graphite over a wide temperature range down to 2 mK. Superfluidity is observed over a narrow range of film densities, emerging suddenly and collapsing towards a quantum critical point, near to layer completion where a Mott insulating phase is predicted to form. The unusual temperature dependence of the superfluid density in the T --> 0 limit and the absence of a clear superfluid onset temperature are explained, self-consistently, by an ansatz for the excitation spectrum, reflecting density wave order, and a quasi-condensate wavefunction breaking both gauge and translational symmetry. In collaboration with Jan Nyeki, Anastasia Phillis, Andrew Ho, Derek Lee, Piers Coleman, Jeevak Parpia, Brian Cowan. Supported by EPSRC (U.K) EP/H048375/1.

Surface charge sensing by altering the phase transition in VO2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumar, S.; Esfandyarpour, R.; Davis, R.; Nishi, Y.

2014-08-01

Detection of surface charges has various applications in medicine, electronics, biotechnology, etc. The source of surface charge induction may range from simple charge-polarized molecules like water to complicated proteins. It was recently discovered that surface charge accumulation can alter the temperature at which VO2 undergoes a Mott transition. Here, we deposited polar molecules onto the surface of two-terminal thin-film VO2 lateral devices and monitored the joule-heating-driven Mott transition, or conductance switching. We observed that the power required to induce the conductance switching reduced upon treatment with polar molecules and, using in-situ blackbody-emission direct measurement of local temperature, we show that this reduction in power was accompanied by reduction in the Mott transition temperature. Further evidence suggested that this effect has specificity to the nature of the species used to induce surface charges. Using x-ray absorption spectroscopy, we also show that there is no detectable change in oxidation state of vanadium or structural phase in the bulk of the 40 nm VO2 thin-film even as the phase transition temperature is reduced by up to 20 K by the polar molecules. The ability to alter the phase transition parameters by depositing polar molecules suggests a potential application in sensing surface charges of different origins and this set of results also highlights interesting aspects of the phase transition in VO2.

Nonequilibrium dynamic critical scaling of the quantum Ising chain.

PubMed

Kolodrubetz, Michael; Clark, Bryan K; Huse, David A

2012-07-06

We solve for the time-dependent finite-size scaling functions of the one-dimensional transverse-field Ising chain during a linear-in-time ramp of the field through the quantum critical point. We then simulate Mott-insulating bosons in a tilted potential, an experimentally studied system in the same equilibrium universality class, and demonstrate that universality holds for the dynamics as well. We find qualitatively athermal features of the scaling functions, such as negative spin correlations, and we show that they should be robustly observable within present cold atom experiments.

Evidence for Jahn-Teller distortions at the antiferromagnetic transition in LaTiO3.

PubMed

Hemberger, J; Krug von Nidda, H-A; Fritsch, V; Deisenhofer, J; Lobina, S; Rudolf, T; Lunkenheimer, P; Lichtenberg, F; Loidl, A; Bruns, D; Büchner, B

2003-08-08

LaTiO3 is known as a Mott insulator which orders antiferromagnetically at T(N)=146 K. We report on results of thermal expansion and temperature dependent x-ray diffraction together with measurements of the heat capacity, electrical transport measurements, and optical spectroscopy in untwinned single crystals. At T(N) significant structural changes appear, which are volume conserving. Concomitant anomalies are also observed in the dc resistivity, in bulk modulus, and optical reflectivity spectra. We interpret these experimental observations as evidence of orbital order.

Mott transition and suppression of orbital fluctuations in orthorhombic 3d1 perovskites.

PubMed

Pavarini, E; Biermann, S; Poteryaev, A; Lichtenstein, A I; Georges, A; Andersen, O K

2004-04-30

Using t(2g) Wannier functions, a low-energy Hamiltonian is derived for orthorhombic 3d(1) transition-metal oxides. Electronic correlations are treated with a new implementation of dynamical mean-field theory for noncubic systems. Good agreement with photoemission data is obtained. The interplay of correlation effects and cation covalency (GdFeO3-type distortions) is found to suppress orbital fluctuations in LaTiO3 and even more in YTiO3, and to favor the transition to the insulating state.

Inhomogeneous atomic Bose-Fermi mixtures in cubic lattices.

PubMed

Cramer, M; Eisert, J; Illuminati, F

2004-11-05

We determine the ground state properties of inhomogeneous mixtures of bosons and fermions in cubic lattices and parabolic confining potentials. For finite hopping we determine the domain boundaries between Mott-insulator plateaux and hopping-dominated regions for lattices of arbitrary dimension within mean-field and perturbation theory. The results are compared with a new numerical method that is based on a Gutzwiller variational approach for the bosons and an exact treatment for the fermions. The findings can be applied as a guideline for future experiments with trapped atomic Bose-Fermi mixtures in optical lattices.

Calculated momentum dependence of Zhang-Rice states in transition metal oxides.

PubMed

Yin, Quan; Gordienko, Alexey; Wan, Xiangang; Savrasov, Sergey Y

2008-02-15

Using a combination of local density functional theory and cluster exact diagonalization based dynamical mean field theory, we calculate many-body electronic structures of several Mott insulating oxides including undoped high T(c) materials. The dispersions of the lowest occupied electronic states are associated with the Zhang-Rice singlets in cuprates and with doublets, triplets, quadruplets, and quintets in more general cases. Our results agree with angle resolved photoemission experiments including the decrease of the spectral weight of the Zhang-Rice band as it approaches k=0.

Electron Correlation and Tranport Properties in Nuclear Fuel Materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yin, Quan; Haule, Kristjan; Kotliar, Gabriel; Savrasov, Sergey; Pickett, Warren

2011-03-01

Using first principle LDA+DMFT method, we conduct a systematic study on the correlated electronic structures and transport properties of select actinide carbides, nitrides, and oxides, many of which are nuclear fuel materials. Our results capture the metal--insulator Mott transition within the studied systems, and the appearance of the Zhang-Rice state in uranium dioxide. More importantly, by understanding the physics underlying their transport properties, we suggest ways to improve the efficiency of currently used fuels. This work is supported by the DOE Nuclear Energy University Program, contract No. 00088708.

Hund's Induced Fermi-Liquid Instabilities and Enhanced Quasiparticle Interactions.

PubMed

De' Medici, Luca

2017-04-21

Hund's coupling is shown to generally favor, in a doped half-filled Mott insulator, an increase in the compressibility culminating in a Fermi-liquid instability towards phase separation. The largest effect is found near the frontier between an ordinary and an orbitally decoupled ("Hund's") metal. The increased compressibility implies an enhancement of quasiparticle scattering, thus favoring other possible symmetry breakings. This physics is shown to happen in simulations of the 122 Fe-based superconductors, possibly implying the relevance of this mechanism in the enhancement of the critical temperature for superconductivity.

Disappearance of the metal-insulator transition in iridate pyrochlores on approaching the ideal R2Ir2O7 stoichiometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sleight, Arthur W.; Ramirez, Arthur P.

2018-07-01

Recently, rare earth iridates, R2Ir2O7, with the pyrochlore structure have been intensively investigated due to their promise as either topological Mott insulators or Weyl semimetals. Single crystals of such pyrochlores with R = Nd, Sm, Eu, and Dy were prepared hydrothermally in sealed gold tubes at 975 K and show significantly higher electrical resistivities than previously reported for either crystals or polycrystalline samples. Furthermore, none of the present crystals exhibit the metal-insulator transition found for some samples of these phases. Lower resistivities are ascribed to lack of control of x and y in R2-xIr2O7-y in other more commonly used synthesis methods, yielding uncertainty in the Ir oxidation state. We also report resistivity of R2Ru2O7 crystals for R = Yb, Gd, Eu, and Nd, prepared in the same manner. These results suggest that the observed charge transport in hydrothermally grown iridate crystals is that of essentially stoichiometric phases and is consistent a with the existence of Weyl nodes.

First-order metal-insulator transition not accompanied by the structural phase transition observed in VO2-based devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Hyun-Tak; Chae, Byung-Gyu; Kim, Bong-Jun; Lee, Yong-Wook; Yun, Sun-Jin; Kang, Kwang-Yong

2006-03-01

An abrupt first-order metal-insulator transition (MIT) is observed during the application of a switching pulse voltage to VO2-based two-terminal devices. When the abrupt MIT occurs, the structural phase transition (SPT) is investigated by a micro- Raman spectroscopy and a micro-XRD. The result shows that the MIT is not accompanied with the structural phase transition (SPT); the abrupt MIT is prior to the SPT. Moreover, any switching pulse over a threshold voltage of 7.1 V for the MIT enabled the device material to transform efficiently from an insulator to a metal. The measured delay time from the source switching pulse to an induced MIT pulse is an order of 20 nsec which is much less than a delay time of about one msec deduced by thermal model. This indicates that the first-order MIT does not occur due to thermal. We think this MIT is the Mott transition. (Reference: New J. Phys. 6 (1994) 52 (www.njp.org), Appl. Phys. Lett. 86 (2005) 242101, Physica B 369 (2005. December) xxxx)

Effect of Spin-Orbit Coupling on the Actinide Dioxides AnO2 (An=Th, Pa, U, Np, Pu, and Am): A Screened Hybrid Density Functional Study

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wen, Xiaodong; Martin, Richard L.; Roy, Lindsay E.

2012-10-21

We present a systematic comparison of the lattice structures, electronic density of states, and band gaps of actinide dioxides, AnO₂ (An=Th, Pa, U, Np, Pu, and Am) predicted by the Heyd-Scuseria-Ernzerhof screened hybrid density functional (HSE) with the self-consistent inclusion of spin-orbit coupling(SOC). The computed HSE lattice constants and band gaps of AnO₂ are in consistently good agreement with the available experimental data across the series, and differ little from earlier HSE results without SOC. ThO₂ is a simple band insulator (f⁰), while PaO₂, UO₂, and NpO₂ are predicted to be Mott insulators. The remainders (PuO₂ and AmO₂) show considerablemore » O2p/An5f mixing and are classified as charge-transfer insulators. We also compare our results for UO₂, NpO₂, and PuO₂with the PBE+U, self interaction correction (SIC), and dynamic mean-field theory (DMFT) many-body approximations.« less

Wide gap Chern Mott insulating phases achieved by design

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, Hongli; Gangopadhyay, Shruba; Köksal, Okan; Pentcheva, Rossitza; Pickett, Warren E.

2017-12-01

Quantum anomalous Hall insulators, which display robust boundary charge and spin currents categorized in terms of a bulk topological invariant known as the Chern number (Thouless et al Phys. Rev. Lett. 49, 405-408 (1982)), provide the quantum Hall anomalous effect without an applied magnetic field. Chern insulators are attracting interest both as a novel electronic phase and for their novel and potentially useful boundary charge and spin currents. Honeycomb lattice systems such as we discuss here, occupied by heavy transition-metal ions, have been proposed as Chern insulators, but finding a concrete example has been challenging due to an assortment of broken symmetry phases that thwart the topological character. Building on accumulated knowledge of the behavior of the 3d series, we tune spin-orbit and interaction strength together with strain to design two Chern insulator systems with bandgaps up to 130 meV and Chern numbers C = -1 and C = 2. We find, in this class, that a trade-off between larger spin-orbit coupling and strong interactions leads to a larger gap, whereas the stronger spin-orbit coupling correlates with the larger magnitude of the Hall conductivity. Symmetry lowering in the course of structural relaxation hampers obtaining quantum anomalous Hall character, as pointed out previously; there is only mild structural symmetry breaking of the bilayer in these robust Chern phases. Recent growth of insulating, magnetic phases in closely related materials with this orientation supports the likelihood that synthesis and exploitation will follow.

Nonequilibrium dynamical mean-field theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Freericks, James

2007-03-01

Dynamical mean-field theory (DMFT) is establishing itself as one of the most powerful approaches to the quantum many-body problem in strongly correlated electron materials. Recently, the formalism has been generalized to study nonequilibrium problems [1,2], such as the evolution of Bloch oscillations in a material that changes from a diffusive metal to a Mott insulator [2,3]. Using a real-time formalism on the Kadanoff-Baym-Keldysh contour, the DMFT algorithm can be generalized to the case of systems that are not time-translation invariant. The computational algorithm has a parallel implementation with essentially a linear scale up when running on thousands of processors. Results on the decay of Bloch oscillations, their change of character within the Mott insulator, and movies on how electrons redistribute themselves due to their response to an external electrical field will be presented. In addition to solid-state applications, this work also applies to the behavior of mixtures of light and heavy cold atoms in optical lattices. [1] V. M. Turkowski and J. K. Freericks, Spectral moment sum rules for strongly correlated electrons in time-dependent electric fields, Phys. Rev. B 075108 (2006); Erratum, Phys. Rev. B 73, 209902(E) (2006). [2] J. K. Freericks, V. M. Turkowski , and V. Zlati'c, Nonlinear response of strongly correlated materials to large electric fields, in Proceedings of the HPCMP Users Group Conference 2006, Denver, CO, June 26--29, 2006 edited by D. E. Post (IEEE Computer Society, Los Alamitos, CA, 2006), to appear. [3] J. K. Freericks, V. M. Turkowski, and V. Zlati'c, Nonequilibrium dynamical mean-field theory, submitted to Phys. Rev. Lett. cond-mat//0607053.

Pertinence et limitations de la loi de Mott dans les isolants désordonnés

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ladieu, François; Sanquer, Marc

Twenty five years ago, Mott's law was established in order to describe electrical transport in disordered insulators at low temperature. In this review, we briefly summarize the different theoretical steps involved in the rigourous derivation of Mott's law. We stress upon the fact that Mott's law gives the mean conductance of an ensemble of macroscopic samples as long as electron-electron interactions remain negligible. We then study what happens when at least one of the key assumptions of Mott's law no longer holds. We first focus on systems whose size — at least in one dimension — is not macroscopic: the optimization involved in Mott's law is no longer relevant for the measured conductance. Eventually, we try to gather different works dealing with electron-electron interactions. It is now established that interactions generally produce a stronger divergence for the electrical resistance than the one predicted by Mott's law at the lowest temperatures. But the exact shape of this divergence, as well as its interpretation, remain debated. We try to make a link between Efros and Shklovskii 's work and their famous "Coulomb gap" and a more recent work about granular media. In this latter work, the size of the grains is the key parameter for the shape of the divergence of the resistance at low temperature. We suggest this could indicate a way for a model accounting for the different shapes of divergence of the electrical resistance at the lowest temperatures. Furthermore this framework of granular media allows us to deal with non linear regime: we explain the main differences between the predictions of the hot electrons model and the ones recently derived for a d -dimensional network of grains. Il y a déjà un quart de siècle que la loi de Mott a été établie afin de décrire le transport dans les milieux isolants désordonnés à basse température. Dans cet article de revue, nous rappelons brièvement les diverses étapes théoriques nécessaires à l'établissement rigoureux de la loi de Mott. Nous insistons sur le fait que la loi de Mott ne donne que la conductance moyenne d'un ensemble d'échantillons macroscopiques, tant que les interactions entre électrons restent négligeables. Nous étudions ensuite ce qu'il se passe lorsque l'on lève au moins l'une des hypothèses nécessaires à l'établissement de la loi de Mott. Nous nous penchons d'abord sur le cas des systèmes dont au moins une dimension n'est pas macroscopique : l'optimisation contenue dans la loi de Mott n'est alors plus représentative de la conductance mesurée. Enfin, nous essayons de rassembler des travaux relatifs aux effets des interactions entre électrons. S'il est acquis que, de façon générale, les interactions entraînent une divergence de la résistance plus rapide que ne le prédit la loi de Mott aux plus basses températures, la forme exacte de cette divergence ainsi que son interprétation restent encore sujets à caution. Nous rapprochons le travail d'Efros et Shklovskii et leur célèbre "gap de Coulomb" d'un travail plus récent sur les milieux granulaires dans lequel la taille des grains joue un rôle discriminant sur la nature de la divergence de la résistance à basse température. Nous suggérons que ce rapprochement ouvre une piste pour un modèle rendant compte de manière unifiée des diverses divergences mesurées à basse température pour la résistance électrique. Cette incursion dans les modèles granulaires nous permet aussi d'aborder la question des non linéarités en exposant les différences entre les prédictions du modèle des électrons chauds et celles proposées récemment pour un réseau de grains en dimension d .

Two-leg ladder systems with dipole–dipole Fermion interactions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mosadeq, Hamid; Asgari, Reza

2018-05-01

The ground-state phase diagram of a two-leg fermionic dipolar ladder with inter-site interactions is studied using density matrix renormalization group (DMRG) techniques. We use a state-of-the-art implementation of the DMRG algorithm and finite size scaling to simulate large system sizes with high accuracy. We also consider two different model systems and explore stable phases in half and quarter filling factors. We find that in the half filling, the charge and spin gaps emerge in a finite value of the dipole–dipole and on-site interactions. In the quarter filling case, s-wave superconducting state, charge density wave, homogenous insulating and phase separation phases occur depend on the interaction values. Moreover, in the dipole–dipole interaction, the D-Mott phase emerges when the hopping terms along the chain and rung are the same, whereas, this phase has been only proposed for the anisotropic Hubbard model. In the half filling case, on the other hand, there is either charge-density wave or charged Mott order phase depends on the orientation of the dipole moments of the particles with respect to the ladder geometry.

Entanglement Entropy across the Superfluid-Insulator Transition: A Signature of Bosonic Criticality.

PubMed

Frérot, Irénée; Roscilde, Tommaso

2016-05-13

We study the entanglement entropy and entanglement spectrum of the paradigmatic Bose-Hubbard model, describing strongly correlated bosons on a lattice. The use of a controlled approximation-the slave-boson approach-allows us to study entanglement in all regimes of the model (and, most importantly, across its superfluid-Mott-insulator transition) at a minimal cost. We find that the area-law scaling of entanglement-verified in all the phases-exhibits a sharp singularity at the transition. The singularity is greatly enhanced when the transition is crossed at fixed, integer filling, due to a richer entanglement spectrum containing an additional gapless mode, which descends from the amplitude (Higgs) mode of the global excitation spectrum-while this mode remains gapped at the generic (commensurate-incommensurate) transition with variable filling. Hence, the entanglement properties contain a unique signature of the two different forms of bosonic criticality exhibited by the Bose-Hubbard model.

Magnon edge states in the hardcore- Bose-Hubbard model.

PubMed

Owerre, S A

2016-11-02

Quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) simulation has uncovered nonzero Berry curvature and bosonic edge states in the hardcore-Bose-Hubbard model on the gapped honeycomb lattice. The competition between the chemical potential and staggered onsite potential leads to an interesting quantum phase diagram comprising the superfluid phase, Mott insulator, and charge density wave insulator. In this paper, we present a semiclassical perspective of this system by mapping to a spin-1/2 quantum XY model. We give an explicit analytical origin of the quantum phase diagram, the Berry curvatures, and the edge states using semiclassical approximations. We find very good agreement between the semiclassical analyses and the QMC results. Our results show that the topological properties of the hardcore-Bose-Hubbard model are the same as those of magnon in the corresponding quantum spin system. Our results are applicable to systems of ultracold bosonic atoms trapped in honeycomb optical lattices.

Magnetic orders of LaTiO3 under epitaxial strain: A first-principles study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weng, Yakui; Huang, Xin; Tang, Yankun; Dong, Shuai

2014-05-01

Perovskite LaTiO3 bulk is a typical Mott-insulator with G-type antiferromagnetic order. In this work, the biaxial strain effects on the ground magnetic order of LaTiO3 films grown on various substrates have been studied. For the compressive strain, LaTiO3 films grown on LaAlO3, LaGaO3, and SrTiO3 substrates undergo a phase transition from the original G-type antiferromagnet to A-type antiferromagnet. The underlying physical mechanisms are the lattice distortions tunned by strain. While for the tensile strain, the BaTiO3 and LaScO3 substrates have been tested, which show a tendency to transit the LaTiO3 to the C-type antiferromagnet. Furthermore, our calculations find that the magnetic transitions under epitaxial strain do not change the insulating fact of LaTiO3.

Formation of orbital-selective electron states in LaTiO3/SrTiO3 superlattices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lechermann, Frank; Boehnke, Lewin; Grieger, Daniel

2013-06-01

The interface electronic structure of correlated LaTiO3/SrTiO3 superlattices is investigated by means of the charge self-consistent combination of the local density approximation (LDA) to density functional theory with dynamical mean-field theory. Utilizing a pseudopotential technique together with a continuous-time quantum Monte Carlo approach, the resulting complex multiorbital electronic states are addressed in a coherent fashion beyond static mean field. General structural relaxations are taken into account on the LDA level and cooperate with the driving forces from strong electronic correlations. This alliance leads to a Ti(3dxy) dominated low-energy quasiparticle peak and a lower Hubbard band in line with photoemission studies. Furthermore correlation effects close to the band-insulating bulk SrTiO3 limit as well as the Mott-insulating bulk LaTiO3 limit are studied via realistic single-layer embeddings.

Spin incommensurability and two phase competition in cobaltites.

PubMed

Phelan, D; Louca, Despina; Kamazawa, K; Lee, S-H; Ancona, S N; Rosenkranz, S; Motome, Y; Hundley, M F; Mitchell, J F; Moritomo, Y

2006-12-08

The perovskite LaCoO3 evolves from a nonmagnetic Mott insulator to a spin cluster ferromagnet (FM) with the substitution of Sr2+ for La3+ in La1-xSrxCoO3. The clusters increase in size and number with x and the charge percolation through the clusters leads to a metallic state. Using elastic neutron scattering on La1-xSrxCoO3 single crystals, we show that an incommensurate spin superstructure coexists with the FM spin clusters. The incommensurability increases continuously with x, with the intensity rising in the insulating phase and dropping in the metallic phase as it directly competes with the commensurate FM, itinerant clusters. The spin incommensurability arises from local order of Co3+-Co4+ clusters but no long-range static or dynamic spin stripes develop. The coexistence and competition of the two magnetic phases explain the residual resistivity at low temperatures in samples with metalliclike transport.

Doping dependence of ordered phases and emergent quasiparticles in the doped Hubbard-Holstein model

DOE PAGES

Mendl, C. B.; Nowadnick, E. A.; Huang, E. W.; ...

2017-11-15

Here, we present determinant quantum Monte Carlo simulations of the hole-doped single-band Hubbard-Holstein model on a square lattice, to investigate how quasiparticles emerge when doping a Mott insulator (MI) or a Peierls insulator (PI). The MI regime at large Hubbard interaction U and small relative e-ph coupling strength λ is quickly suppressed upon doping, by drawing spectral weight from the upper Hubbard band and shifting the lower Hubbard band towards the Fermi level, leading to a metallic state with emergent quasiparticles at the Fermi level. On the other hand, the PI regime at large λ and small U persists outmore » to relatively high doping levels. We study the evolution of the d-wave superconducting susceptibility with doping, and find that it increases with lowering temperature in a regime of intermediate values of U and λ.« less

Structural, magnetic, and electronic properties of GdTiO{sub 3} Mott insulator thin films grown by pulsed laser deposition

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Grisolia, M. N.; Bruno, F. Y.; Sando, D.

2014-10-27

We report on the optimization process to synthesize epitaxial thin films of GdTiO{sub 3} on SrLaGaO{sub 4} substrates by pulsed laser deposition. Optimized films are free of impurity phases and are fully strained. They possess a magnetic Curie temperature T{sub C} = 31.8 K with a saturation magnetization of 4.2 μ{sub B} per formula unit at 10 K. Transport measurements reveal an insulating response, as expected. Optical spectroscopy indicates a band gap of ∼0.7 eV, comparable to the bulk value. Our work adds ferrimagnetic orthotitanates to the palette of perovskite materials for the design of emergent strongly correlated states at oxide interfaces using a versatile growthmore » technique such as pulsed laser deposition.« less

LaTiO₃/KTaO₃ interfaces: A new two-dimensional electron gas system

DOE PAGES

Zou, K.; Ismail-Beigi, Sohrab; Kisslinger, Kim; ...

2015-03-01

We report a new 2D electron gas (2DEG) system at the interface between a Mott insulator, LaTiO₃, and a band insulator, KTaO₃. For LaTiO₃/KTaO₃ interfaces, we observe metallic conduction from 2 K to 300 K. One serious technological limitation of SrTiO₃-based conducting oxide interfaces for electronics applications is the relatively low carrier mobility (0.5-10 cm²/V s) of SrTiO₃ at room temperature. By using KTaO₃, we achieve mobilities in LaTiO₃/KTaO₃ interfaces as high as 21 cm²/V s at room temperature, over a factor of 3 higher than observed in doped bulk SrTiO₃. By density functional theory, we attribute the higher mobilitymore » in KTaO₃ 2DEGs to the smaller effective mass for electrons in KTaO₃.« less

Doping dependence of ordered phases and emergent quasiparticles in the doped Hubbard-Holstein model

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mendl, C. B.; Nowadnick, E. A.; Huang, E. W.

Here, we present determinant quantum Monte Carlo simulations of the hole-doped single-band Hubbard-Holstein model on a square lattice, to investigate how quasiparticles emerge when doping a Mott insulator (MI) or a Peierls insulator (PI). The MI regime at large Hubbard interaction U and small relative e-ph coupling strength λ is quickly suppressed upon doping, by drawing spectral weight from the upper Hubbard band and shifting the lower Hubbard band towards the Fermi level, leading to a metallic state with emergent quasiparticles at the Fermi level. On the other hand, the PI regime at large λ and small U persists outmore » to relatively high doping levels. We study the evolution of the d-wave superconducting susceptibility with doping, and find that it increases with lowering temperature in a regime of intermediate values of U and λ.« less

Pressure-induced superconductivity in the iron-based ladder material BaFe2S3.

PubMed

Takahashi, Hiroki; Sugimoto, Akira; Nambu, Yusuke; Yamauchi, Touru; Hirata, Yasuyuki; Kawakami, Takateru; Avdeev, Maxim; Matsubayashi, Kazuyuki; Du, Fei; Kawashima, Chizuru; Soeda, Hideto; Nakano, Satoshi; Uwatoko, Yoshiya; Ueda, Yutaka; Sato, Taku J; Ohgushi, Kenya

2015-10-01

All the iron-based superconductors identified so far share a square lattice composed of Fe atoms as a common feature, despite having different crystal structures. In copper-based materials, the superconducting phase emerges not only in square-lattice structures but also in ladder structures. Yet iron-based superconductors without a square-lattice motif have not been found, despite being actively sought out. Here, we report the discovery of pressure-induced superconductivity in the iron-based spin-ladder material BaFe2S3, a Mott insulator with striped-type magnetic ordering below ∼120 K. On the application of pressure this compound exhibits a metal-insulator transition at about 11 GPa, followed by the appearance of superconductivity below Tc = 14 K, right after the onset of the metallic phase. Our findings indicate that iron-based ladder compounds represent promising material platforms, in particular for studying the fundamentals of iron-based superconductivity.

Oxygen octahedral distortions in LaMO 3/SrTiO 3 superlattices

DOE PAGES

Sanchez-Santolino, Gabriel; Cabero, Mariona; Varela, Maria; ...

2014-04-24

Here we study the interfaces between the Mott insulator LaMnO 3 (LMO) and the band insulator SrTiO 3 (STO) in epitaxially grown superlattices with different thickness ratios and different transport and magnetic behaviors. Using atomic resolution electron energy-loss spectrum imaging, we analyze simultaneously the structural and chemical properties of these interfaces. We find changes in the oxygen octahedral tilts within the LaMnO 3 layers when the thickness ratio between the manganite and the titanate layers is varied. Superlattices with thick LMO and ultrathin STO layers present unexpected octahedral tilts in the STO, along with a small amount of oxygen vacancies.more » On the other hand, thick STO layers exhibit undistorted octahedra while the LMO layers present reduced O octahedral distortions near the interfaces. In conclusion, these findings will be discussed in view of the transport and magnetic differences found in previous studies.« less

Origin of the charge gap in LaMnPO

DOE PAGES

McNally, D. E.; Simonson, Jack W.; Post, K. W.; ...

2014-11-18

In this paper, we present high temperature inelastic neutron scattering and magnetic susceptibility measurements of the antiferromagnetic insulator LaMnPO that are consistent with the presence of two-dimensional magnetic correlations up to a temperature T max≈700K»T N=375 K, the Néel temperature. Optical transmission measurements show the T=300 K direct charge gap Δ=1 eV has decreased only marginally by 500 K and suggest it decreases by only 10% at T max. Density functional theory and dynamical mean-field theory calculations reproduce a direct charge gap in paramagnetic LaMnPO only when a strong Hund's coupling J H=0.9 eV is included, as well as on-sitemore » Hubbard U=8 eV. In conclusion, our results show that LaMnPO is a Mott-Hund's insulator, in which the charge gap is rather insensitive to antiferromagnetic exchange coupling.« less

Ba2NiOsO6: a Dirac-Mott insulator with ferromagnetism near 100 K

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feng, Hl; Calder, S.; Ghimire, M.; Yuan, Yh; Shirako, Y.; Tsujimoto, Y.; Matsushita, Y.; Hu, Z.; Kuo, Cy; Tjeng, Lh; Pi, Tw; Soo, Yl; He, Jf; Tanaka, M.; Katsuya, Y.; Richte, M.; Yamaura, Kazunari

The ferromagnetic semiconductor Ba2NiOsO6(Tmag 100 K) was synthesized at 6 GPa and 1500 ° C. It crystallizes into a double perovskite structure [Fm-3 m; a = 8.0428(1)], where the Ni2+ and Os6+ ions are perfectly ordered at the perovskite B-site. We show that the spin-orbit coupling of Os6+ plays an essential role in opening the charge gap. The magnetic state was investigated by density functional theory calculations and powder neutron diffraction. The latter revealed a collinear ferromagnetic order in a >21-kOe magnetic field at 5 K. The ferromagnetic gapped state is fundamentally different from that of known dilute magnetic semiconductors such as (Ga,Mn)As and (Cd,Mn)Te (Tmag<180 K), the spin-gapless semiconductor Mn2CoAl (Tmag 720 K), and the ferromagnetic insulators EuO (Tmag 70 K) and Bi3Cr3O11(Tmag 220 K). It is also qualitatively different from known ferrimagnetic insulator/semiconductors, which are characterized by an antiparallel spin arrangement. Our report of cubic Ba2NiOsO6 heralds a new class of FM insulator oxides, which may be useful in developing a practical magnetic semiconductor that can be employed in spintronic and quantum magnetic devices.

Chaotic dynamics in nanoscale NbO2 Mott memristors for analogue computing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumar, Suhas; Strachan, John Paul; Williams, R. Stanley

2017-08-01

At present, machine learning systems use simplified neuron models that lack the rich nonlinear phenomena observed in biological systems, which display spatio-temporal cooperative dynamics. There is evidence that neurons operate in a regime called the edge of chaos that may be central to complexity, learning efficiency, adaptability and analogue (non-Boolean) computation in brains. Neural networks have exhibited enhanced computational complexity when operated at the edge of chaos, and networks of chaotic elements have been proposed for solving combinatorial or global optimization problems. Thus, a source of controllable chaotic behaviour that can be incorporated into a neural-inspired circuit may be an essential component of future computational systems. Such chaotic elements have been simulated using elaborate transistor circuits that simulate known equations of chaos, but an experimental realization of chaotic dynamics from a single scalable electronic device has been lacking. Here we describe niobium dioxide (NbO2) Mott memristors each less than 100 nanometres across that exhibit both a nonlinear-transport-driven current-controlled negative differential resistance and a Mott-transition-driven temperature-controlled negative differential resistance. Mott materials have a temperature-dependent metal-insulator transition that acts as an electronic switch, which introduces a history-dependent resistance into the device. We incorporate these memristors into a relaxation oscillator and observe a tunable range of periodic and chaotic self-oscillations. We show that the nonlinear current transport coupled with thermal fluctuations at the nanoscale generates chaotic oscillations. Such memristors could be useful in certain types of neural-inspired computation by introducing a pseudo-random signal that prevents global synchronization and could also assist in finding a global minimum during a constrained search. We specifically demonstrate that incorporating such memristors into the hardware of a Hopfield computing network can greatly improve the efficiency and accuracy of converging to a solution for computationally difficult problems.

Quantum simulation of strongly correlated condensed matter systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hofstetter, W.; Qin, T.

2018-04-01

We review recent experimental and theoretical progress in realizing and simulating many-body phases of ultracold atoms in optical lattices, which gives access to analog quantum simulations of fundamental model Hamiltonians for strongly correlated condensed matter systems, such as the Hubbard model. After a general introduction to quantum gases in optical lattices, their preparation and cooling, and measurement techniques for relevant observables, we focus on several examples, where quantum simulations of this type have been performed successfully during the past years: Mott-insulator states, itinerant quantum magnetism, disorder-induced localization and its interplay with interactions, and topological quantum states in synthetic gauge fields.

Spin dynamics and orbital state in LaTiO3

PubMed

Keimer; Casa; Ivanov; Lynn; Zimmermann; Hill; Gibbs; Taguchi; Tokura

2000-10-30

A neutron scattering study of the Mott-Hubbard insulator LaTiO3 ( T(N) = 132 K) reveals a spin wave spectrum that is well described by a nearest-neighbor superexchange constant J = 15.5 meV and a small Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction ( D = 1.1 meV). The nearly isotropic spin wave spectrum is surprising in view of the absence of a static Jahn-Teller distortion that could quench the orbital angular momentum, and it may indicate strong orbital fluctuations. A resonant x-ray scattering study has uncovered no evidence of orbital order in LaTiO3.

Pairing from strong repulsion in triangular lattice Hubbard model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Shang-Shun; Zhu, Wei; Batista, Cristian D.

2018-04-01

We propose a pairing mechanism between holes in the dilute limit of doped frustrated Mott insulators. Hole pairing arises from a hole-hole-magnon three-body bound state. This pairing mechanism has its roots on single-hole kinetic energy frustration, which favors antiferromagnetic (AFM) correlations around the hole. We demonstrate that the AFM polaron (hole-magnon bound state) produced by a single hole propagating on a field-induced polarized background is strong enough to bind a second hole. The effective interaction between these three-body bound states is repulsive, implying that this pairing mechanism is relevant for superconductivity.

Dynamical Reduction of the Dimensionality of Exchange Interactions and the "Spin-Liquid" Phase of κ-(BEDT-TTF)_{2}X.

PubMed

Powell, B J; Kenny, E P; Merino, J

2017-08-25

We show that the anisotropy of the effective spin model for the dimer Mott insulator phase of κ-(BEDT-TTF)_{2}X salts is dramatically different from that of the underlying tight-binding model. Intradimer quantum interference results in a model of coupled spin chains, where frustrated interchain interactions suppress long-range magnetic order. Thus, we argue, the "spin liquid" phase observed in some of these materials is a remnant of the Tomonaga-Luttinger physics of a single chain. This is consistent with previous experiments and resolves some outstanding puzzles.

Detuning the honeycomb of α -RuCl3 : Pressure-dependent optical studies reveal broken symmetry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Biesner, Tobias; Biswas, Sananda; Li, Weiwu; Saito, Yohei; Pustogow, Andrej; Altmeyer, Michaela; Wolter, Anja U. B.; Büchner, Bernd; Roslova, Maria; Doert, Thomas; Winter, Stephen M.; Valentí, Roser; Dressel, Martin

2018-06-01

The honeycomb Mott insulator α -RuCl3 loses its low-temperature magnetic order by pressure. We report clear evidence for a dimerized structure at P >1 GPa and observe the breakdown of the relativistic jeff picture in this regime strongly affecting the electronic properties. A pressure-induced Kitaev quantum spin liquid cannot occur in this broken symmetry state. We shed light on the new phase by broadband infrared spectroscopy of the low-temperature properties of α -RuCl3 and ab initio density functional theory calculations, both under hydrostatic pressure.

Metal-insulator transition, giant negative magnetoresistance, and ferromagnetism in LaCo1-yNiyO3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hammer, D.; Wu, J.; Leighton, C.

2004-04-01

We have investigated the transport and magnetic properties of the perovskite LaCo1-yNiyO3, an alloy of LaCoO3 (a semiconductor that exhibits spin-state transitions) and LaNiO3 (a paramagnetic metal). The metal-insulator transition (MIT) was found to occur at y=0.40. On the insulating side of the transition the conductivity obeys Mott variable range hopping with a characteristic temperature (T0) that varies with y in a manner consistent with the predictions of the scaling theory of electron localization. On the metallic side the low temperature conductivity (down to 0.35 K) varies as T1/2 due to the effects of electron-electron interaction in the presence of disorder. The composition dependence of the low-temperature conductivity in the critical region fits the scaling theory of electron localization with a conductivity critical exponent close to unity, consistent with the scaling of T0 in the insulating phase. A large negative magnetoresistance is observed (up to 70% in 17 T) which increases monotonically with decreasing temperature and is smoothly decreased through the MIT. The magnetic properties show that doping LaCoO3 with Ni leads to a rapid destruction of the low spin-state for Co3+ ions, followed by the onset of distinct ferromagnetic interactions at higher Ni content. Similar to La1-xSrxCoO3, the system shows a smooth evolution from spin-glass to ferromagnetic ground states, which is interpreted in terms of the formation of ferromagnetic clusters. In contrast to La1-xSrxCoO3 further doping does not lead to a bulk ferromagnetlike state with a large TC, despite the clear existence of ferromagnetic interactions. We suggest that this is due to a limitation of the strength of the ferromagnetic interactions, which could be related to the fact that Ni rich clusters are not thermodynamically stable. The ferromagnetic clusters in LaCo1-yNiyO3 do not percolate with increasing y explaining the lack of a high-TC ferromagnetic state and the fact that the MIT is a simple Mott-Anderson transition rather than a percolation transition. Finally, in contrast to previous works (which focused on a single composition) we find no clear correlation between freezing temperature and the onset of magnetoresistance.

Phase transition transistors based on strongly-correlated materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nakano, Masaki

2013-03-01

The field-effect transistor (FET) provides electrical switching functions through linear control of the number of charges at a channel surface by external voltage. Controlling electronic phases of condensed matters in a FET geometry has long been a central issue of physical science. In particular, FET based on a strongly correlated material, namely ``Mott transistor,'' has attracted considerable interest, because it potentially provides gigantic and diverse electronic responses due to a strong interplay between charge, spin, orbital and lattice. We have investigated electric-field effects on such materials aiming at novel physical phenomena and electronic functions originating from strong correlation effects. Here we demonstrate electrical switching of bulk state of matter over the first-order metal-insulator transition. We fabricated FETs based on VO2 with use of a recently developed electric-double-layer transistor technique, and found that the electrostatically induced carriers at a channel surface drive all preexisting localized carriers of 1022 cm-3 even inside a bulk to motion, leading to bulk carrier delocalization beyond the electrostatic screening length. This non-local switching of bulk phases is achieved with just around 1 V, and moreover, a novel non-volatile memory like character emerges in a voltage-sweep measurement. These observations are apparently distinct from those of conventional FETs based on band insulators, capturing the essential feature of collective interactions in strongly correlated materials. This work was done in collaboration with K. Shibuya, D. Okuyama, T. Hatano, S. Ono, M. Kawasaki, Y. Iwasa, and Y. Tokura. This work was supported by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSAP) through its ``Funding Program for World-Leading Innovative R&D on Science and Technology (FIRST Program).''

A Robust Solver for Incompressible Flow on Cartesian Grids with Colocated Variables

DTIC Science & Technology

2005-07-13

three-dimensional calculations for a channel micromixer including a herringbone-patterned surface geometry. 13 Figure 2 shows the flowfield in a two...1973) 38-69. [121 C.R. Kaplan, D.R. Mott, E.S. Oran, Towards the Design of Efficient Micromixers , AIAA paper 2004-0931, 42nd AIAA Aerospace Sciences...Meeting and Exhibit, Reno, Nevada, 2004. [13] C.R. Kaplan, D.R. Mott, E.S. Oran, J. Liu. "Towards the Design of Efficient Micromixers ," in preparation

Coulomb blockade and charge ordering in a few layers of TTF-TCNQ investigated by low-temperature STM/STS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jeon, Seokmin; Maksymovych, Petro

In contrast to the vast effort on bulk crystal phases of the prototypical organic charge-transfer complex, TTF-TCNQ, study of low-dimensional phases has been limited to monolayer phases on substrates. In this state, however, none of the physics of the bulk phase is observed owing to the overwhelming effect of the substrate. We investigate the molecular structure and electronic properties of a few layers of TTF-TCNQ grown on Au(111) and Ag(111) using STM/STS at 4.3 K. By decoupling the molecular electronic state from the metal surface, we have made the first observation of the effect of confinement on the electronic properties of TTF-TCNQ. STS reveals a plethora of sharp features due to molecular orbitals, each influenced by charge-transfer between the molecules. We hypothesize the existence of a Mott-insulator state in 3-layer islands, with a Coulomb gap of ~1 eV. In contrast, the corresponding bulk phase is a Peierls insulator with a gap of ~20 meV. The root cause of the nanoscale phase is traced to simultaneous electron confinement and structural frustration, which dramatically modify the energy balance of self-ionization allowing for integer charge transfer. These studies open broad opportunities to explore correlated electron physics in molecular systems. This research was conducted at the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, which is a DOE Office of Science User Facility.

Highly anisotropic exchange interactions of j eff = 1 2 iridium moments on the fcc lattice in La 2 B IrO 6   ( B = Mg , Zn )

DOE PAGES

Aczel, A. A.; Cook, A. M.; Williams, T. J.; ...

2016-06-20

Here we have performed inelastic neutron scattering (INS) experiments to investigate the magnetic excitations in the weakly distorted face-centered-cubic (fcc) iridate double perovskites Lamore » $$_2$$ZnIrO$$_6$$ and La$$_2$$MgIrO$$_6$$, which are characterized by A-type antiferromagnetic ground states. The powder inelastic neutron scattering data on these geometrically frustrated $$j_{\\rm eff}=1/2$$ Mott insulators provide clear evidence for gapped spin wave excitations with very weak dispersion. The INS results and thermodynamic data on these materials can be reproduced by conventional Heisenberg-Ising models with significant uniaxial Ising anisotropy and sizeable second-neighbor ferromagnetic interactions. Such a uniaxial Ising exchange interaction is symmetry-forbidden on the ideal fcc lattice, so that it can only arise from the weak crystal distortions away from the ideal fcc limit. This may suggest that even weak distortions in $$j_{\\rm eff}=1/2$$ Mott insulators might lead to strong exchange anisotropies. More tantalizingly, however, we find an alternative viable explanation of the INS results in terms of spin models with a dominant Kitaev interaction. In contrast to the uniaxial Ising exchange, the highly-directional Kitaev interaction is a type of exchange anisotropy which is symmetry-allowed even on the ideal fcc lattice. The Kitaev model has a magnon gap induced by quantum order-by-disorder, while weak anisotropies of the Kitaev couplings generated by the symmetry-lowering due to lattice distortions can pin the order and enhance the magnon gap. In conclusion, our findings highlight how even conventional magnetic orders in heavy transition metal oxides may be driven by highly-directional exchange interactions rooted in strong spin-orbit coupling.« less

Metal-Insulator Transition in Copper Oxides Induced by Apex Displacements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Acharya, Swagata; Weber, Cédric; Plekhanov, Evgeny; Pashov, Dimitar; Taraphder, A.; Van Schilfgaarde, Mark

2018-04-01

High temperature superconductivity has been found in many kinds of compounds built from planes of Cu and O, separated by spacer layers. Understanding why critical temperatures are so high has been the subject of numerous investigations and extensive controversy. To realize high temperature superconductivity, parent compounds are either hole doped, such as La2 CuO4 (LCO) with Sr (LSCO), or electron doped, such as Nd2 CuO4 (NCO) with Ce (NCCO). In the electron-doped cuprates, the antiferromagnetic phase is much more robust than the superconducting phase. However, it was recently found that the reduction of residual out-of-plane apical oxygen dramatically affects the phase diagram, driving those compounds to a superconducting phase. Here we use a recently developed first-principles method to explore how displacement of the apical oxygen (AO) in LCO affects the optical gap, spin and charge susceptibilities, and superconducting order parameter. By combining quasiparticle self-consistent GW (QS GW) and dynamical mean-field theory (DMFT), we show that LCO is a Mott insulator, but small displacements of the apical oxygen drive the compound to a metallic state through a localization-delocalization transition, with a concomitant maximum in d -wave order parameter at the transition. We address the question of whether NCO can be seen as the limit of LCO with large apical displacements, and we elucidate the deep physical reasons why the behavior of NCO is so different from the hole-doped materials. We shed new light on the recent correlation observed between Tc and the charge transfer gap, while also providing a guide towards the design of optimized high-Tc superconductors. Further, our results suggest that strong correlation, enough to induce a Mott gap, may not be a prerequisite for high-Tc superconductivity.

Probing the spin-orbit Mott state in Sr3Ir2O7 by electron doping

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hogan, Thomas C.

Iridium-based members of the Ruddlesden-Popper family of oxide compounds are characterized by a unique combination of energetically comparable effects: crystal-field splitting, spin-orbit coupling, and electron-electron interactions are all present, and the combine to produce a Jeff = 1/2 ground state. In the bilayer member of this series, Sr3Ir2O7, this state manifests as electrically insulating, with unpaired Ir4+ spins aligned along the long axis of the unit cell to produce a G-type antiferromagnet with an ordered moment of 0.36 uB. In this work, this Mott state is destabilized by electron doping via La3+ substitution on the Sr-site to produce (Sr1-x Lax)3Ir2O7. The introduction of carriers initially causes nano-scale phase-separated regions to develop before driving a global insulator-to-metal transition at x=0.04. Coinciding with this transition is the disappearance of evidence of magnetic order in the system in either bulk magnetization or magnetic scattering experiments. The doping also enhances a structural order parameter observed in the parent compound at forbidden reciprocal lattice vectors. A more complete structural solution is proposed to account for this previously unresolved distortion, and also offers an explanation as to the anomalous net ferromagnetism seen prior in bulk measurements. Finally, spin dynamics are probed via a resonant x-ray technique to reveal evidence of spin-dimer-like behavior dominated by inter-plane interactions. This result supports a bond-operator treatment of the interaction Hamiltonian, and also explains the doping dependence of high temperature magnetic susceptibility.

A Monte Carlo modeling on charging effect for structures with arbitrary geometries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, C.; Mao, S. F.; Zou, Y. B.; Li, Yong Gang; Zhang, P.; Li, H. M.; Ding, Z. J.

2018-04-01

Insulating materials usually suffer charging effects when irradiated by charged particles. In this paper, we present a Monte Carlo study on the charging effect caused by electron beam irradiation for sample structures with any complex geometry. When transporting in an insulating solid, electrons encounter elastic and inelastic scattering events; the Mott cross section and a Lorentz-type dielectric function are respectively employed to describe such scatterings. In addition, the band gap and the electron–long optical phonon interaction are taken into account. The electronic excitation in inelastic scattering causes generation of electron–hole pairs; these negative and positive charges establish an inner electric field, which in turn induces the drift of charges to be trapped by impurities, defects, vacancies etc in the solid, where the distributions of trapping sites are assumed to have uniform density. Under charging conditions, the inner electric field distorts electron trajectories, and the surface electric potential dynamically alters secondary electron emission. We present, in this work, an iterative modeling method for a self-consistent calculation of electric potential; the method has advantages in treating any structure with arbitrary complex geometry, in comparison with the image charge method—which is limited to a quite simple boundary geometry. Our modeling is based on: the combination of the finite triangle mesh method for an arbitrary geometry construction; a self-consistent method for the spatial potential calculation; and a full dynamic description for the motion of deposited charges. Example calculations have been done to simulate secondary electron yield of SiO2 for a semi-infinite solid, the charging for a heterostructure of SiO2 film grown on an Au substrate, and SEM imaging of a SiO2 line structure with rough surfaces and SiO2 nanoparticles with irregular shapes. The simulations have explored interesting interlaced charge layer distribution underneath the nanoparticle surface and the mechanism by which it is produced.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dou, Xu; Kotov, Valeri N.; Uchoa, Bruno

Quantum spin-orbital liquids are elusive strongly correlated states of matter that emerge from quantum frustration between spin and orbital degrees of freedom. A promising route towards the observation of those states is the creation of artificial Mott insulators where antiferromagnetic correlations between spins and orbitals can be designed. We show that Coulomb impurity lattices on the surface of gapped honeycomb substrates, such as graphene on SiC, can be used to simulate SU(4) symmetric spin-orbital lattice models. We exploit the property that massive Dirac fermions form mid-gap bound states with spin and valley degeneracies in the vicinity of a Coulomb impurity.more » Due to electronic repulsion, the antiferromagnetic correlations of the impurity lattice are driven by a super-exchange interaction with SU(4) symmetry, which emerges from the bound states degeneracy at quarter filling. We propose that quantum spin-orbital liquids can be engineered in artificially designed solid-state systems at vastly higher temperatures than achievable in optical lattices with cold atoms. Lastly, we discuss the experimental setup and possible scenarios for candidate quantum spin-liquids in Coulomb impurity lattices of various geometries.« less

Transport phenomena in SrVO3/SrTiO3 superlattices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gu, Man; Wolf, Stuart A.; Lu, Jiwei

2018-03-01

Epitaxial [(SrVO3)7/(SrTiO3)4] r (SVO/STO) superlattices were grown on (0 0 1)-oriented LSAT substrates using a pulsed electron-beam deposition technique. The transport properties of the superlattices were investigated by varying the number of repetitions of the SVO/STO bilayers r (1  ⩽  r  ⩽  9). A single SVO/STO bilayer (r  =  1) was semiconducting, whereas an increase in the number of repetitions r resulted in metallic behavior in the superlattices with r  ⩾  3. The transport phenomena in the SVO/STO superlattices can be regarded as conduction through parallel-coupled SVO layers, the SVO layer embedded in the superlattices showed a great enhancement in the conductivity compared with the single SVO layer. This work provides further evidence of electronic phase separation in the SVO ultrathin layer that has been recently discovered, the SVO ultrathin layer is considered as a 2D Mott insulator with metallic and insulating phases coexisting, the coupling between SVO layers embedded in the SVO/STO superlattices creates more conduction pathways with increasing number of repetitions r, resulting in a crossover from insulating to metallic behavior.

Nanoscale structural and electronic characterization of α-RuCl3 layered compound

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ziatdinov, Maxim; Maksov, Artem; Banerjee, Arnab; Zhou, Wu; Berlijn, Tom; Yan, Jiaqiang; Nagler, Stephen; Mandrus, David; Baddorf, Arthur; Kalinin, Sergei

The exceptional interplay of spin-orbit effects, Coulomb interaction, and electron-lattice coupling is expected to produce an elaborate phase space of α-RuCl3 layered compound, which to date remains largely unexplored. Here we employ a combination of scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) for detailed evaluation of the system's microscopic structural and electronic orders with a sub-nanometer precision. The STM and STEM measurements are further supported by neutron scattering, X-Ray diffraction, density functional theory (DFT), and multivariate statistical analysis. Our results show a trigonal distortion of Cl octahedral ligand cage along the C3 symmetry axes in each RuCl3 layer. The lattice distortion is limited mainly to the Cl subsystem leaving the Ru honeycomb lattice nearly intact. The STM topographic and spectroscopic characterization reveals an intra unit cell electronic symmetry breaking in a spin-orbit coupled Mott insulating phase on the Cl-terminated surface of α-RuCl3. The associated long-range charge order (CO) pattern is linked to a surface component of Cl cage distortion. We finally discuss a fine structure of CO and its potential relation to variations of average unit cell geometries found in multivariate analysis of STEM data. The research was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy.

Autonomous stabilizer for incompressible photon fluids and solids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, Ruichao; Owens, Clai; Houck, Andrew; Schuster, David I.; Simon, Jonathan

2017-04-01

We suggest a simple approach to populate photonic quantum materials at nonzero chemical potential and near-zero temperature. Taking inspiration from forced evaporation in cold-atom experiments, the essential ingredients for our low-entropy thermal reservoir are (a) interparticle interactions and (b) energy-dependent loss. The resulting thermal reservoir may then be coupled to a broad class of Hamiltonian systems to produce low-entropy quantum phases. We present an idealized picture of such a reservoir, deriving the scaling of reservoir entropy with system parameters, and then propose several practical implementations using only standard circuit quantum electrodynamics tools, and extract the fundamental performance limits. Finally, we explore, both analytically and numerically, the coupling of such a thermalizer to the paradigmatic Bose-Hubbard chain, where we employ it to stabilize an n =1 Mott phase. In this case, the performance is limited by the interplay of dynamically arrested thermalization of the Mott insulator and finite heat capacity of the thermalizer, characterized by its repumping rate. This work explores an approach to preparation of quantum phases of strongly interacting photons, and provides a potential route to topologically protected phases that are difficult to reach through adiabatic evolution.

On the nature of the Mott transition in multiorbital systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Facio, Jorge I.; Vildosola, V.; García, D. J.; Cornaglia, Pablo S.

2017-02-01

We analyze the nature of a Mott metal-insulator transition in multiorbital systems using dynamical mean-field theory. The auxiliary multiorbital quantum impurity problem is solved using continuous-time quantum Monte Carlo and the rotationally invariant slave-boson (RISB) mean-field approximation. We focus our analysis on the Kanamori Hamiltonian and find that there are two markedly different regimes determined by the nature of the lowest-energy excitations of the atomic Hamiltonian. The RISB results at T →0 suggest the following rule of thumb for the order of the transition at zero temperature: a second-order transition is to be expected if the lowest-lying excitations of the atomic Hamiltonian are charge excitations, while the transition tends to be first order if the lowest-lying excitations are in the same charge sector as the atomic ground state. At finite temperatures, the transition is first order and its strength, as measured, e.g., by the jump in the quasiparticle weight at the transition, is stronger in the parameter regime where the RISB method predicts a first-order transition at zero temperature. Interestingly, these results seem to apply to a wide variety of models and parameter regimes.

Exploring the energy landscape of resistive switching in antiferromagnetic S r3I r2O7

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Williamson, Morgan; Shen, Shida; Cao, Gang; Zhou, Jianshi; Goodenough, John B.; Tsoi, Maxim

2018-04-01

We study the resistive switching triggered by an applied electrical bias in the antiferromagnetic Mott insulator S r3I r2O7 . The switching was previously associated with an electric-field-driven structural transition. Here we use time-resolved measurements to probe the thermal activation behavior of the switching process and acquire information about the energy barrier associated with the transition. We quantify the changes in the energy-barrier height with respect to the applied bias and find a linear decrease of the barrier with increasing bias. Our observations support the potential of antiferromagnetic transition-metal oxides for spintronic applications.

The physics of inhomogeneous striped superconductors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martin, I.; Ortiz, G.; Eroles, J.; Balatsky, A. V.; Bishop, A. R.

2001-05-01

We present a minimal model of a doped Mott insulator that simultaneously supports antiferromagnetic stripes and d-wave superconductivity. At the unrestricted mean-field level, the various phases of the cuprates, including weak and strong pseudogap phases, and two different types of superconductivity in the underdoped and the overdoped regimes, find a natural interpretation. We argue that on the underdoped side, the superconductor is intrinsically inhomogeneous — striped nanoscale coexistence of superconductivity and magnetism — and global phase coherence is achieved through Josephson-like coupling of the superconducting stripes. On the overdoped side, the state is overall homogeneous and the superconductivity is of the classical BCS type.

Ultrafast dynamics of localized magnetic moments in the unconventional Mott insulator Sr 2IrO 4

DOE PAGES

Krupin, O.; Dakovski, G. L.; Kim, B. J.; ...

2016-06-16

Here, we report a time-resolved study of the ultrafast dynamics of the magnetic moments formed by themore » $${{J}_{\\text{eff}}}=1/2$$ states in Sr 2IrO 4 by directly probing the localized iridium 5d magnetic state through resonant x-ray diffraction. Using optical pump–hard x-ray probe measurements, two relaxation time scales were determined: a fast fluence-independent relaxation is found to take place on a time scale of 1.5 ps, followed by a slower relaxation on a time scale of 500 ps–1.5 ns.« less

Enhanced pairing susceptibility in a photodoped two-orbital Hubbard model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Werner, Philipp; Strand, Hugo U. R.; Hoshino, Shintaro; Murakami, Yuta; Eckstein, Martin

2018-04-01

Local spin fluctuations provide the glue for orbital-singlet spin-triplet pairing in the doped Mott insulating regime of multiorbital Hubbard models. At large Hubbard repulsion U , the pairing susceptibility is nevertheless tiny because the pairing interaction cannot overcome the suppression of charge fluctuations. Using nonequilibrium dynamical mean field simulations of the two-orbital Hubbard model, we show that out of equilibrium the pairing susceptibility in this large-U regime can be strongly enhanced by creating a photoinduced population of the relevant charge states. This enhancement is supported by the long lifetime of photodoped charge carriers and a built-in cooling mechanism in multiorbital Hubbard systems.

Optical ferris wheel for ultracold atoms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Franke-Arnold, S.; Leach, J.; Padgett, M. J.; Lembessis, V. E.; Ellinas, D.; Wright, A. J.; Girkin, J. M.; Ohberg, P.; Arnold, A. S.

2007-07-01

We propose a versatile optical ring lattice suitable for trapping cold and quantum degenerate atomic samples. We demonstrate the realisation of intensity patterns from pairs of Laguerre-Gauss (exp(iℓө) modes with different ℓ indices. These patterns can be rotated by introducing a frequency shift between the modes. We can generate bright ring lattices for trapping atoms in red-detuned light, and dark ring lattices suitable for trapping atoms with minimal heating in the optical vortices of blue-detuned light. The lattice sites can be joined to form a uniform ring trap, making it ideal for studying persistent currents and the Mott insulator transition in a ring geometry.

Quantifying Complexity in Quantum Phase Transitions via Mutual Information Complex Networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Valdez, Marc Andrew; Jaschke, Daniel; Vargas, David L.; Carr, Lincoln D.

2017-12-01

We quantify the emergent complexity of quantum states near quantum critical points on regular 1D lattices, via complex network measures based on quantum mutual information as the adjacency matrix, in direct analogy to quantifying the complexity of electroencephalogram or functional magnetic resonance imaging measurements of the brain. Using matrix product state methods, we show that network density, clustering, disparity, and Pearson's correlation obtain the critical point for both quantum Ising and Bose-Hubbard models to a high degree of accuracy in finite-size scaling for three classes of quantum phase transitions, Z2, mean field superfluid to Mott insulator, and a Berzinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless crossover.

Duality-mediated critical amplitude ratios for the (2 + 1)-dimensional S = 1XY model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nishiyama, Yoshihiro

2017-09-01

The phase transition for the (2 + 1)-dimensional spin-S = 1XY model was investigated numerically. Because of the boson-vortex duality, the spin stiffness ρs in the ordered phase and the vortex-condensate stiffness ρv in the disordered phase should have a close relationship. We employed the exact diagonalization method, which yields the excitation gap directly. As a result, we estimate the amplitude ratios ρs,v/Δ (Δ: Mott insulator gap) by means of the scaling analyses for the finite-size cluster with N ≤ 22 spins. The ratio ρs/ρv admits a quantitative measure of deviation from selfduality.

Anisotropic exchange and spin-wave damping in pure and electron-doped Sr2IrO4

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pincini, D.; Vale, J. G.; Donnerer, C.; de la Torre, A.; Hunter, E. C.; Perry, R.; Moretti Sala, M.; Baumberger, F.; McMorrow, D. F.

2017-08-01

The collective magnetic excitations in the spin-orbit Mott insulator (Sr1-xLax) 2IrO4 (x =0 ,0.01 ,0.04 ,0.1 ) were investigated by means of resonant inelastic x-ray scattering. We report significant magnon energy gaps at both the crystallographic and antiferromagnetic zone centers at all doping levels, along with a remarkably pronounced momentum-dependent lifetime broadening. The spin-wave gap is accounted for by a significant anisotropy in the interactions between Jeff=1 /2 isospins, thus marking the departure of Sr2IrO4 from the essentially isotropic Heisenberg model appropriate for the superconducting cuprates.

Hypergeometric continuation of divergent perturbation series: I. Critical exponents of the Bose-Hubbard model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sanders, Sören; Holthaus, Martin

2017-10-01

We study the connection between the exponent of the order parameter of the Mott insulator-to-superfluid transition occurring in the two-dimensional Bose-Hubbard model, and the divergence exponents of its one- and two-particle correlation functions. We find that at the multicritical points all divergence exponents are related to each other, allowing us to express the critical exponent in terms of one single divergence exponent. This approach correctly reproduces the critical exponent of the three-dimensional XY universality class. Because divergence exponents can be computed in an efficient manner by hypergeometric analytic continuation, our strategy is applicable to a wide class of systems.

Evidence of superconductivity on the border of quasi-2D ferromagnetism in Ca2RuO4 at high pressure.

PubMed

Alireza, Patricia Lebre; Nakamura, Fumihiko; Goh, Swee Kuan; Maeno, Yoshiteru; Nakatsuji, Satoru; Ko, Yuen Ting Chris; Sutherland, Michael; Julian, Stephen; Lonzarich, Gilbert George

2010-02-10

The layered perovskite Ca(2)RuO(4) is a spin-one Mott insulator at ambient pressure and exhibits metallic ferromagnetism at least up to ∼ 80 kbar with a maximum Curie temperature of 28 K. Above ∼ 90 and up to 140 kbar, the highest pressure reached, the resistivity and ac susceptibility show pronounced downturns below ∼ 0.4 K in applied magnetic fields of up to ∼ 10 mT. This indicates that our specimens of Ca(2)RuO(4) are weakly superconducting on the border of a quasi-2D ferromagnetic state.

The nature of the pressure-induced metallization of FeO and its implications to the core-mantle boundary

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sherman, David M.

1989-01-01

The pressure and temperature-induced metallization of FeO discovered by Knittle et al (1986) is here argued to result from a Mott transition associated with increased Fe(3d)-Fe(3d) orbital overlap at high pressures. Consequently, it is here argued that a lower mantle containing only these phases should be electrically insulating. Finally, the formation of itinerant d-electrons in FeO may be a necessary, if not sufficient, condition for the apparent alloying of FeO with Fe. Such alloying may allow oxygen to be incorporated into the outer core. -from Author

Zoo of Quantum Phases and Excitations of Cold Bosonic Atoms in Optical Lattices

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Alon, Ofir E.; Streltsov, Alexej I.; Cederbaum, Lorenz S.

Quantum phases and phase transitions of weakly to strongly interacting bosonic atoms in deep to shallow optical lattices are described by a single multiorbital mean-field approach in real space. For weakly interacting bosons in one dimension, the critical value of the superfluid to Mott insulator (MI) transition found is in excellent agreement with many-body treatments of the Bose-Hubbard model. For strongly interacting bosons (i) additional MI phases appear, for which two (or more) atoms residing in each site undergo a Tonks-Girardeau-like transition and localize, and (ii) on-site excitation becomes the excitation lowest in energy. Experimental implications are discussed.

Numerical stabilization of entanglement computation in auxiliary-field quantum Monte Carlo simulations of interacting many-fermion systems.

PubMed

Broecker, Peter; Trebst, Simon

2016-12-01

In the absence of a fermion sign problem, auxiliary-field (or determinantal) quantum Monte Carlo (DQMC) approaches have long been the numerical method of choice for unbiased, large-scale simulations of interacting many-fermion systems. More recently, the conceptual scope of this approach has been expanded by introducing ingenious schemes to compute entanglement entropies within its framework. On a practical level, these approaches, however, suffer from a variety of numerical instabilities that have largely impeded their applicability. Here we report on a number of algorithmic advances to overcome many of these numerical instabilities and significantly improve the calculation of entanglement measures in the zero-temperature projective DQMC approach, ultimately allowing us to reach similar system sizes as for the computation of conventional observables. We demonstrate the applicability of this improved DQMC approach by providing an entanglement perspective on the quantum phase transition from a magnetically ordered Mott insulator to a band insulator in the bilayer square lattice Hubbard model at half filling.

Quadratic Fermi node in a 3D strongly correlated semimetal

PubMed Central

Kondo, Takeshi; Nakayama, M.; Chen, R.; Ishikawa, J. J.; Moon, E.-G.; Yamamoto, T.; Ota, Y.; Malaeb, W.; Kanai, H.; Nakashima, Y.; Ishida, Y.; Yoshida, R.; Yamamoto, H.; Matsunami, M.; Kimura, S.; Inami, N.; Ono, K.; Kumigashira, H.; Nakatsuji, S.; Balents, L.; Shin, S.

2015-01-01

Strong spin–orbit coupling fosters exotic electronic states such as topological insulators and superconductors, but the combination of strong spin–orbit and strong electron–electron interactions is just beginning to be understood. Central to this emerging area are the 5d transition metal iridium oxides. Here, in the pyrochlore iridate Pr2Ir2O7, we identify a non-trivial state with a single-point Fermi node protected by cubic and time-reversal symmetries, using a combination of angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy and first-principles calculations. Owing to its quadratic dispersion, the unique coincidence of four degenerate states at the Fermi energy, and strong Coulomb interactions, non-Fermi liquid behaviour is predicted, for which we observe some evidence. Our discovery implies that Pr2Ir2O7 is a parent state that can be manipulated to produce other strongly correlated topological phases, such as topological Mott insulator, Weyl semimetal, and quantum spin and anomalous Hall states. PMID:26640114

Nonequilibrium Phase Precursors during a Photoexcited Insulator-to-Metal Transition in V2O3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singer, Andrej; Ramirez, Juan Gabriel; Valmianski, Ilya; Cela, Devin; Hua, Nelson; Kukreja, Roopali; Wingert, James; Kovalchuk, Olesya; Glownia, James M.; Sikorski, Marcin; Chollet, Matthieu; Holt, Martin; Schuller, Ivan K.; Shpyrko, Oleg G.

2018-05-01

Here, we photoinduce and directly observe with x-ray scattering an ultrafast enhancement of the structural long-range order in the archetypal Mott system V2O3 . Despite the ultrafast increase in crystal symmetry, the change of unit cell volume occurs an order of magnitude slower and coincides with the insulator-to-metal transition. The decoupling between the two structural responses in the time domain highlights the existence of a transient photoinduced precursor phase, which is distinct from the two structural phases present in equilibrium. X-ray nanoscopy reveals that acoustic phonons trapped in nanoscale twin domains govern the dynamics of the ultrafast transition into the precursor phase, while nucleation and growth of metallic domains dictate the duration of the slower transition into the metallic phase. The enhancement of the long-range order before completion of the electronic transition demonstrates the critical role the nonequilibrium structural phases play during electronic phase transitions in correlated electrons systems.

Photoemission from buried interfaces in SrTiO3/LaTiO3 superlattices.

PubMed

Takizawa, M; Wadati, H; Tanaka, K; Hashimoto, M; Yoshida, T; Fujimori, A; Chikamatsu, A; Kumigashira, H; Oshima, M; Shibuya, K; Mihara, T; Ohnishi, T; Lippmaa, M; Kawasaki, M; Koinuma, H; Okamoto, S; Millis, A J

2006-08-04

We have measured photoemission spectra of SrTiO3/LaTiO3 superlattices with a topmost SrTiO3 layer of variable thickness. A finite coherent spectral weight with a clear Fermi cutoff was observed at chemically abrupt SrTiO3/LaTiO3 interfaces, indicating that an "electronic reconstruction" occurs at the interface between the Mott insulator LaTiO3 and the band insulator SrTiO3. For SrTiO3/LaTiO3 interfaces annealed at high temperatures (approximately 1000 degrees C), which leads to Sr/La atomic interdiffusion and hence to the formation of La(1-x)Sr(x)TiO3-like material, the intensity of the incoherent part was found to be dramatically reduced whereas the coherent part with a sharp Fermi cutoff was enhanced due to the spread of charge. These important experimental features are well reproduced by layer dynamical-mean-field-theory calculation.

LaTiO3/KTaO3 interfaces: A new two-dimensional electron gas system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zou, K.; Ismail-Beigi, Sohrab; Kisslinger, Kim; Shen, Xuan; Su, Dong; Walker, F. J.; Ahn, C. H.

2015-03-01

We report a new 2D electron gas (2DEG) system at the interface between a Mott insulator, LaTiO3, and a band insulator, KTaO3. For LaTiO3/KTaO3 interfaces, we observe metallic conduction from 2 K to 300 K. One serious technological limitation of SrTiO3-based conducting oxide interfaces for electronics applications is the relatively low carrier mobility (0.5-10 cm2/V s) of SrTiO3 at room temperature. By using KTaO3, we achieve mobilities in LaTiO3/KTaO3 interfaces as high as 21 cm2/V s at room temperature, over a factor of 3 higher than observed in doped bulk SrTiO3. By density functional theory, we attribute the higher mobility in KTaO3 2DEGs to the smaller effective mass for electrons in KTaO3.

Electronic and structural reconstruction in titanate heterostructures from first principles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mulder, Andrew T.; Fennie, Craig J.

2014-03-01

Recent advances in transition metal oxide heterostructures have opened new routes to create materials with novel functionalities and properties. One direction has been to combine a Mott insulating perovskite with an electronic d1 configuration, such as LaTiO3, with a band insulating d0 perovskite, such as SrTiO3. An exciting recent development is the demonstration of interfacial conductivity in GdTiO3/SrTiO3 heterostructures that display a complex structural motif of octahedral rotations and ferromagnetic properties similar to bulk GdTiO3. In this talk we present our first principles investigation of the interplay of structural, electronic, magnetic, and orbital degrees of freedom for a wide range of d1/d0 titanate heterostructures. We find evidence for both rotation driven ferroelectricity and a symmetry breaking electronic reconstruction with a concomitant structural distortion at the interface. We argue that these materials represent an ideal platform to realize novel functionalities such as the electric field control of electronic and magnetic properties.

Fragile magnetic order in the honeycomb lattice Iridate Na2IrO3 revealed by magnetic impurity doping

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mehlawat, Kavita; Sharma, G.; Singh, Yogesh

2015-10-01

We report the structure, magnetic, and thermal property measurements on single-crystalline and polycrystalline samples of the Ru-substituted honeycomb lattice iridate Na2Ir1 -xRuxO3 (x =0 ,0.05 ,0.1 ,0.15 ,0.2 ,0.3 ,0.5 ) . The evolution of magnetism in Na2Ir1 -xRuxO3 has been studied using dc and ac magnetic susceptibilities and heat-capacity measurements. The parent compound Na2IrO3 is a spin-orbit-driven Mott insulator with magnetic order of reduced moments below TN=15 K . In the Ru-substituted samples the antiferromagnetic long-range state is replaced by a spin-glass-like state even for the smallest substitution suggesting that the magnetic order in Na2IrO3 is extremely fragile. We argue that these behaviors indicate the importance of nearest-neighbor magnetic exchange in the parent Na2IrO3 . Additionally, all samples show insulating electrical transport.

Mg-doped VO2 nanoparticles: hydrothermal synthesis, enhanced visible transmittance and decreased metal-insulator transition temperature.

PubMed

Zhou, Jiadong; Gao, Yanfeng; Liu, Xinling; Chen, Zhang; Dai, Lei; Cao, Chuanxiang; Luo, Hongjie; Kanahira, Minoru; Sun, Chao; Yan, Liuming

2013-05-28

This paper reports the successful preparation of Mg-doped VO2 nanoparticles via hydrothermal synthesis. The metal-insulator transition temperature (T(c)) decreased by approximately 2 K per at% Mg. The Tc decreased to 54 °C with 7.0 at% dopant. The composite foils made from Mg-doped VO2 particles displayed excellent visible transmittance (up to 54.2%) and solar modulation ability (up to 10.6%). In addition, the absorption edge blue-shifted from 490 nm to 440 nm at a Mg content of 3.8 at%, representing a widened optical band gap from 2.0 eV for pure VO2 to 2.4 eV at 3.8 at% doping. As a result, the colour of the Mg-doped films was modified to increase their brightness and lighten the yellow colour over that of the undoped-VO2 film. A first principle calculation was conducted to understand how dopants affect the optical, Mott phase transition and structural properties of VO2.

Quadratic Fermi node in a 3D strongly correlated semimetal

DOE PAGES

Kondo, Takeshi; Nakayama, M.; Chen, R.; ...

2015-12-07

We report that strong spin–orbit coupling fosters exotic electronic states such as topological insulators and superconductors, but the combination of strong spin–orbit and strong electron–electron interactions is just beginning to be understood. Central to this emerging area are the 5d transition metal iridium oxides. Here, in the pyrochlore iridate Pr 2Ir 2O 7, we identify a non-trivial state with a single-point Fermi node protected by cubic and time-reversal symmetries, using a combination of angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy and first-principles calculations. Owing to its quadratic dispersion, the unique coincidence of four degenerate states at the Fermi energy, and strong Coulomb interactions, non-Fermimore » liquid behaviour is predicted, for which we observe some evidence. Lastly, our discovery implies that Pr 2Ir 2O 7 is a parent state that can be manipulated to produce other strongly correlated topological phases, such as topological Mott insulator, Weyl semimetal, and quantum spin and anomalous Hall states.« less

Exotic s-wave superconductivity in alkali-doped fullerides.

PubMed

Nomura, Yusuke; Sakai, Shiro; Capone, Massimo; Arita, Ryotaro

2016-04-20

Alkali-doped fullerides (A3C60 with A = K, Rb, Cs) show a surprising phase diagram, in which a high transition-temperature (Tc) s-wave superconducting state emerges next to a Mott insulating phase as a function of the lattice spacing. This is in contrast with the common belief that Mott physics and phonon-driven s-wave superconductivity are incompatible, raising a fundamental question on the mechanism of the high-Tc superconductivity. This article reviews recent ab initio calculations, which have succeeded in reproducing comprehensively the experimental phase diagram with high accuracy and elucidated an unusual cooperation between the electron-phonon coupling and the electron-electron interactions leading to Mott localization to realize an unconventional s-wave superconductivity in the alkali-doped fullerides. A driving force behind the exotic physics is unusual intramolecular interactions, characterized by the coexistence of a strongly repulsive Coulomb interaction and a small effectively negative exchange interaction. This is realized by a subtle energy balance between the coupling with the Jahn-Teller phonons and Hund's coupling within the C60 molecule. The unusual form of the interaction leads to a formation of pairs of up- and down-spin electrons on the molecules, which enables the s-wave pairing. The emergent superconductivity crucially relies on the presence of the Jahn-Teller phonons, but surprisingly benefits from the strong correlations because the correlations suppress the kinetic energy of the electrons and help the formation of the electron pairs, in agreement with previous model calculations. This confirms that the alkali-doped fullerides are a new type of unconventional superconductors, where the unusual synergy between the phonons and Coulomb interactions drives the high-Tc superconductivity.

Effective Hamiltonians for correlated narrow energy band systems and magnetic insulators: Role of spin-orbit interactions in metal-insulator transitions and magnetic phase transitions

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chakraborty, Subrata; Vijay, Amrendra, E-mail: avijay@iitm.ac.in

Using a second-quantized many-electron Hamiltonian, we obtain (a) an effective Hamiltonian suitable for materials whose electronic properties are governed by a set of strongly correlated bands in a narrow energy range and (b) an effective spin-only Hamiltonian for magnetic materials. The present Hamiltonians faithfully include phonon and spin-related interactions as well as the external fields to study the electromagnetic response properties of complex materials and they, in appropriate limits, reduce to the model Hamiltonians due to Hubbard and Heisenberg. With the Hamiltonian for narrow-band strongly correlated materials, we show that the spin-orbit interaction provides a mechanism for metal-insulator transition, whichmore » is distinct from the Mott-Hubbard (driven by the electron correlation) and the Anderson mechanism (driven by the disorder). Next, with the spin-only Hamiltonian, we demonstrate the spin-orbit interaction to be a reason for the existence of antiferromagnetic phase in materials which are characterized by a positive isotropic spin-exchange energy. This is distinct from the Néel-VanVleck-Anderson paradigm which posits a negative spin-exchange for the existence of antiferromagnetism. We also find that the Néel temperature increases as the absolute value of the spin-orbit coupling increases.« less

Magnetic End States in a Strongly Interacting One-Dimensional Topological Kondo Insulator

DOE PAGES

Lobos, Alejandro M.; Dobry, Ariel O.; Galitski, Victor

2015-05-22

Topological Kondo insulators are strongly correlated materials where itinerant electrons hybridize with localized spins, giving rise to a topologically nontrivial band structure. Here, we use nonperturbative bosonization and renormalization-group techniques to study theoretically a one-dimensional topological Kondo insulator, described as a Kondo-Heisenberg model, where the Heisenberg spin-1/2 chain is coupled to a Hubbard chain through a Kondo exchange interaction in the p-wave channel (i.e., a strongly correlated version of the prototypical Tamm-Schockley model).We derive and solve renormalization-group equations at two-loop order in the Kondo parameter, and find that, at half filling, the charge degrees of freedom in the Hubbard chainmore » acquire a Mott gap, even in the case of a noninteracting conduction band (Hubbard parameter U = 0). Furthermore, at low enough temperatures, the system maps onto a spin-1/2 ladder with local ferromagnetic interactions along the rungs, effectively locking the spin degrees of freedom into a spin-1 chain with frozen charge degrees of freedom. This structure behaves as a spin-1 Haldane chain, a prototypical interacting topological spin model, and features two magnetic spin-1/2 end states for chains with open boundary conditions. In conclusion, our analysis allows us to derive an insightful connection between topological Kondo insulators in one spatial dimension and the well-known physics of the Haldane chain, showing that the ground state of the former is qualitatively different from the predictions of the naive mean-field theory.« less

Ultracold fermions in a one-dimensional bipartite optical lattice: Metal-insulator transitions driven by shaking

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Di Liberto, M.; Malpetti, D.; Japaridze, G. I.; Morais Smith, C.

2014-08-01

We theoretically investigate the behavior of a system of fermionic atoms loaded in a bipartite one-dimensional optical lattice that is under the action of an external time-periodic driving force. By using Floquet theory, an effective model is derived. The bare hopping coefficients are renormalized by zeroth-order Bessel functions of the first kind with different arguments for the nearest-neighbor and next-nearest-neighbor hopping. The insulating behavior characterizing the system at half filling in the absence of driving is dynamically suppressed, and for particular values of the driving parameter the system becomes either a standard metal or an unconventional metal with four Fermi points. The existence of the four-Fermi-point metal relies on the fact that, as a consequence of the shaking procedure, the next-nearest-neighbor hopping coefficients become significant compared to the nearest-neighbor ones. We use the bosonization technique to investigate the effect of on-site Hubbard interactions on the four-Fermi-point metal-insulator phase transition. Attractive interactions are expected to enlarge the regime of parameters where the unconventional metallic phase arises, whereas repulsive interactions reduce it. This metallic phase is known to be a Luther-Emery liquid (spin-gapped metal) for both repulsive and attractive interactions, contrary to the usual Hubbard model, which exhibits a Mott-insulator phase for repulsive interactions. Ultracold fermions in driven one-dimensional bipartite optical lattices provide an interesting platform for the realization of this long-studied four-Fermi-point unconventional metal.

Thermal effects in light scattering from ultracold bosons in an optical lattice

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lakomy, Kazimierz; Idziaszek, Zbigniew; Trippenbach, Marek

2009-10-15

We study the scattering of a weak and far-detuned light from a system of ultracold bosons in one-dimensional and three-dimensional optical lattices. We show the connection between angular distributions of the scattered light and statistical properties of a Bose gas in a periodic potential. The angular patterns are determined by the Fourier transform of the second-order correlation function, and thus they can be used to retrieve information on particle number fluctuations and correlations. We consider superfluid and Mott-insulator phases of the Bose gas in a lattice and we analyze in detail how the scattering depends on the system dimensionality, temperature,more » and atom-atom interactions.« less

Stable-unstable transition for a Bose-Hubbard chain coupled to an environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, Chu; de Vega, Ines; Schollwöck, Ulrich; Poletti, Dario

2018-05-01

Interactions in quantum systems may induce transitions to exotic correlated phases of matter which can be vulnerable to coupling to an environment. Here, we study the stability of a Bose-Hubbard chain coupled to a bosonic bath at zero and nonzero temperature. We show that only above a critical interaction the chain loses bosons and its properties are significantly affected. The transition is of a different nature than the superfluid-Mott-insulator transition and occurs at a different critical interaction. We explain such a stable-unstable transition by the opening of a global charge gap. The comparison of accurate matrix product state simulations to approximative approaches that miss this transition reveals its many-body origin.

Bose-Hubbard lattice as a controllable environment for open quantum systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cosco, Francesco; Borrelli, Massimo; Mendoza-Arenas, Juan José; Plastina, Francesco; Jaksch, Dieter; Maniscalco, Sabrina

2018-04-01

We investigate the open dynamics of an atomic impurity embedded in a one-dimensional Bose-Hubbard lattice. We derive the reduced evolution equation for the impurity and show that the Bose-Hubbard lattice behaves as a tunable engineered environment allowing one to simulate both Markovian and non-Markovian dynamics in a controlled and experimentally realizable way. We demonstrate that the presence or absence of memory effects is a signature of the nature of the excitations induced by the impurity, being delocalized or localized in the two limiting cases of a superfluid and Mott insulator, respectively. Furthermore, our findings show how the excitations supported in the two phases can be characterized as information carriers.

Nanowire-based thermoelectric ratchet in the hopping regime

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bosisio, Riccardo; Fleury, Geneviève; Pichard, Jean-Louis; Gorini, Cosimo

2016-04-01

We study a thermoelectric ratchet consisting of an array of disordered nanowires arranged in parallel on top of an insulating substrate and contacted asymmetrically to two electrodes. Transport is investigated in the Mott hopping regime, when localized electrons can propagate through the nanowires via thermally assisted hops. When the electronic temperature in the nanowires is different from the phononic one in the substrate, we show that a finite electrical current is generated even in the absence of driving forces between the electrodes. We discuss the device performance both as an energy harvester, when an excess heat from the substrate is converted into useful power, and as a refrigerator, when an external power is supplied to cool down the substrate.

Coulomb Correlations Intertwined with Spin and Orbital Excitations in LaCoO_{3}.

PubMed

Tomiyasu, K; Okamoto, J; Huang, H Y; Chen, Z Y; Sinaga, E P; Wu, W B; Chu, Y Y; Singh, A; Wang, R-P; de Groot, F M F; Chainani, A; Ishihara, S; Chen, C T; Huang, D J

2017-11-10

We carried out temperature-dependent (20-550 K) measurements of resonant inelastic x-ray scattering on LaCoO_{3} to investigate the evolution of its electronic structure across the spin-state crossover. In combination with charge-transfer multiplet calculations, we accurately quantified the renomalized crystal-field excitation energies and spin-state populations. We show that the screening of the effective on-site Coulomb interaction of 3d electrons is orbital selective and coupled to the spin-state crossover in LaCoO_{3}. The results establish that the gradual spin-state crossover is associated with a relative change of Coulomb energy versus bandwidth, leading to a Mott-type insulator-to-metal transition.

Lattice-Assisted Spectroscopy: A Generalized Scanning Tunneling Microscope for Ultracold Atoms.

PubMed

Kantian, A; Schollwöck, U; Giamarchi, T

2015-10-16

We propose a scheme to measure the frequency-resolved local particle and hole spectra of any optical lattice-confined system of correlated ultracold atoms that offers single-site addressing and imaging, which is now an experimental reality. Combining perturbation theory and time-dependent density matrix renormalization group simulations, we quantitatively test and validate this approach of lattice-assisted spectroscopy on several one-dimensional example systems, such as the superfluid and Mott insulator, with and without a parabolic trap, and finally on edge states of the bosonic Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model. We highlight extensions of our basic scheme to obtain an even wider variety of interesting and important frequency resolved spectra.

Efficient production of spin singlets in lattice-confined spinor condensates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Lichao; Chen, Zihe; Tang, Tao; Liu, Yingmei

2017-04-01

We present an efficient experimental scheme for a production of spin singlets in an antiferromagnetic spinor condensate confined by a cubic optical lattice. Via two independent detection methods, we demonstrate that about 80 percent of atoms in the lattice-confined spinor condensate can form spin singlets, immediately after the atoms cross a first-order superfluid to Mott-insulator phase transition in a sufficiently low microwave dressing field. We also discuss a good agreement between our data and the mean field theory, and two applications of spin singlets in quantum information science. We thank the National Science Foundation and the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology for financial support.

Hypergeometric continuation of divergent perturbation series: II. Comparison with Shanks transformation and Padé approximation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sanders, Sören; Holthaus, Martin

2017-11-01

We explore in detail how analytic continuation of divergent perturbation series by generalized hypergeometric functions is achieved in practice. Using the example of strong-coupling perturbation series provided by the two-dimensional Bose-Hubbard model, we compare hypergeometric continuation to Shanks and Padé techniques, and demonstrate that the former yields a powerful, efficient and reliable alternative for computing the phase diagram of the Mott insulator-to-superfluid transition. In contrast to Shanks transformations and Padé approximations, hypergeometric continuation also allows us to determine the exponents which characterize the divergence of correlation functions at the transition points. Therefore, hypergeometric continuation constitutes a promising tool for the study of quantum phase transitions.

Spin ordering and electronic texture in the bilayer iridate Sr3Ir2O7

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dhital, Chetan; Khadka, Sovit; Yamani, Z.; de la Cruz, Clarina; Hogan, T. C.; Disseler, S. M.; Pokharel, Mani; Lukas, K. C.; Tian, Wei; Opeil, C. P.; Wang, Ziqiang; Wilson, Stephen D.

2012-09-01

Through a neutron scattering, charge transport, and magnetization study, the correlated ground state in the bilayer iridium oxide Sr3Ir2O7 is explored. Our combined results resolve scattering consistent with a high temperature magnetic phase that persists above 600 K, reorients at the previously defined TAF=280 K, and coexists with an electronic ground state whose phase behavior suggests the formation of a fluctuating charge or orbital phase that freezes below T*≈70 K. Our study provides a window into the emergence of multiple electronic order parameters near the boundary of the metal to insulator phase transition of the 5d Jeff=1/2 Mott phase.

Negligible carrier freeze-out facilitated by impurity band conduction in highly p-type GaN

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gunning, Brendan; Lowder, Jonathan; Moseley, Michael; Alan Doolittle, W.

2012-08-01

Highly p-type GaN films with hole concentrations exceeding 6 × 1019 cm-3 grown by metal-modulated epitaxy are electrically characterized. Temperature-dependent Hall effect measurements at cryogenic temperatures reveal minimal carrier freeze-out in highly doped samples, while less heavily doped samples exhibited high resistivity and donor-compensated conductivity as is traditionally observed. Effective activation energies as low as 43 meV were extracted, and a maximum Mg activation efficiency of 52% was found. In addition, the effective activation energy was found to be negatively correlated to the hole concentration. These results indicate the onset of the Mott-Insulator transition leading to impurity band conduction.

Driven Bose-Hubbard model with a parametrically modulated harmonic trap

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mann, N.; Bakhtiari, M. Reza; Massel, F.; Pelster, A.; Thorwart, M.

2017-04-01

We investigate a one-dimensional Bose-Hubbard model in a parametrically driven global harmonic trap. The delicate interplay of both the local interaction of the atoms in the lattice and the driving of the global trap allows us to control the dynamical stability of the trapped quantum many-body state. The impact of the atomic interaction on the dynamical stability of the driven quantum many-body state is revealed in the regime of weak interaction by analyzing a discretized Gross-Pitaevskii equation within a Gaussian variational ansatz, yielding a Mathieu equation for the condensate width. The parametric resonance condition is shown to be modified by the atom interaction strength. In particular, the effective eigenfrequency is reduced for growing interaction in the mean-field regime. For a stronger interaction, the impact of the global parametric drive is determined by the numerically exact time-evolving block decimation scheme. When the trapped bosons in the lattice are in a Mott insulating state, the absorption of energy from the driving field is suppressed due to the strongly reduced local compressibility of the quantum many-body state. In particular, we find that the width of the local Mott region shows a breathing dynamics. Finally, we observe that the global modulation also induces an effective time-independent inhomogeneous hopping strength for the atoms.

Unconventional high-Tc superconductivity in fullerides.

PubMed

Takabayashi, Yasuhiro; Prassides, Kosmas

2016-09-13

A3C60 molecular superconductors share a common electronic phase diagram with unconventional high-temperature superconductors such as the cuprates: superconductivity emerges from an antiferromagnetic strongly correlated Mott-insulating state upon tuning a parameter such as pressure (bandwidth control) accompanied by a dome-shaped dependence of the critical temperature, Tc However, unlike atom-based superconductors, the parent state from which superconductivity emerges solely by changing an electronic parameter-the overlap between the outer wave functions of the constituent molecules-is controlled by the C60 (3-) molecular electronic structure via the on-molecule Jahn-Teller effect influence of molecular geometry and spin state. Destruction of the parent Mott-Jahn-Teller state through chemical or physical pressurization yields an unconventional Jahn-Teller metal, where quasi-localized and itinerant electron behaviours coexist. Localized features gradually disappear with lattice contraction and conventional Fermi liquid behaviour is recovered. The nature of the underlying (correlated versus weak-coupling Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer theory) s-wave superconducting states mirrors the unconventional/conventional metal dichotomy: the highest superconducting critical temperature occurs at the crossover between Jahn-Teller and Fermi liquid metal when the Jahn-Teller distortion melts.This article is part of the themed issue 'Fullerenes: past, present and future, celebrating the 30th anniversary of Buckminster Fullerene'. © 2016 The Author(s).

Commensurate 4a0-period charge density modulations throughout the Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+x pseudogap regime

PubMed Central

Mesaros, Andrej; Fujita, Kazuhiro; Edkins, Stephen D.; Hamidian, Mohammad H.; Eisaki, Hiroshi; Uchida, Shin-ichi; Davis, J. C. Séamus; Lawler, Michael J.; Kim, Eun-Ah

2016-01-01

Theories based upon strong real space (r-space) electron–electron interactions have long predicted that unidirectional charge density modulations (CDMs) with four-unit-cell (4a0) periodicity should occur in the hole-doped cuprate Mott insulator (MI). Experimentally, however, increasing the hole density p is reported to cause the conventionally defined wavevector QA of the CDM to evolve continuously as if driven primarily by momentum-space (k-space) effects. Here we introduce phase-resolved electronic structure visualization for determination of the cuprate CDM wavevector. Remarkably, this technique reveals a virtually doping-independent locking of the local CDM wavevector at |Q0|=2π/4a0 throughout the underdoped phase diagram of the canonical cuprate Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8. These observations have significant fundamental consequences because they are orthogonal to a k-space (Fermi-surface)–based picture of the cuprate CDMs but are consistent with strong-coupling r-space–based theories. Our findings imply that it is the latter that provides the intrinsic organizational principle for the cuprate CDM state. PMID:27791157

Design of Mott and topological phases on buckled 3d-oxide honeycomb lattices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pentcheva, Rossitza

The honeycomb lattice, as realized e.g. in graphene, has rendered a robust platform for innovative science and potential applications. A much richer generalization of this lattice arises in (111)-oriented bilayers of perovskites, adding the complexity of the strongly correlated, multiorbital nature of electrons in transition metal oxides. Based on first principles calculations with an on-site Coulomb repulsion, here we provide trends in the evolution of ground states versus band filling in (111)-oriented (La XO3)2 /(LaAlO3)4 superlattices, with X spanning the entire 3d transition metal series. The competition between local quasi-cubic and global triangular symmetry triggers unanticipated broken symmetry phases, with mechanisms ranging from Jahn-Teller distortion, to charge-, spin-, and orbital-ordering. LaMnO3 and LaCoO3 bilayers, where spin-orbit coupling opens a sizable gap in the Dirac-point Fermi surface, emerge as much desired oxide-based Chern insulators, the latter displaying a gap capable of supporting room-temperature applications Further realizations of the honeycomb lattice and geometry patterns beyond the perovskite structure will be addressed. Research supported by the DFG, SFB/TR80.

Pentavalent iridium pyrochlore C d2I r2O7 : A prototype material system for competing crystalline field and spin-orbit coupling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dai, Jianhong; Yin, Yunyu; Wang, Xiao; Shen, Xudong; Liu, Zhehong; Ye, Xubin; Cheng, Jinguang; Jin, Changqing; Zhou, Guanghui; Hu, Zhiwei; Weng, Shihchang; Wan, Xiangang; Long, Youwen

2018-02-01

A new pyrochlore oxide C d2I r2O7 with an I r5 + charge state was prepared by high-pressure techniques. Although strong spin-orbit coupling (SOC) dominates the electronic states in most iridates so that a SOC-Mott state is proposed in S r2Ir O4 in the assumption of an undistorted Ir O6 octahedral crystalline field, the strongly distorted one in the current C d2I r2O7 exhibits a competing interaction with the SOC. Unexpected from a strong SOC limit, C d2I r2O7 deviates from a nonmagnetic and insulating J =0 ground state. It displays short-range ferromagnetic correlations and metallic electrical transport properties. First-principles calculations well reproduce the experimental observation, revealing the large mixture between the jeff=1 /2 and jeff=3 /2 bands near the Fermi surface due to the significant distortion of Ir O6 octahedra. This work sheds light on the critical role of a noncubic crystalline field in electronic properties which has been ignored in past studies of 5 d -electron systems.

Commensurate 4 a 0 -period charge density modulations throughout the Bi 2 Sr 2 CaCu 2 O 8+x pseudogap regime

DOE PAGES

Mesaros, Andrej; Fujita, Kazuhiro; Edkins, Stephen D.; ...

2016-10-20

Theories based upon strong real space (r-space) electron–electron interactions have long predicted that unidirectional charge density modulations (CDMs) with four-unit-cell (4 a0) periodicity should occur in the hole-doped cuprate Mott insulator (MI). But, increasing the hole density p is reported to cause the conventionally defined wavevector Q A of the CDM to evolve continuously as if driven primarily by momentum-space (k-space) effects. We introduce phase-resolved electronic structure visualization for determination of the cuprate CDM wavevector. Remarkably, this technique reveals a virtually doping-independent locking of the local CDM wavevector at |Q 0|=2π/4 a0 throughout the underdoped phase diagram of the canonicalmore » cuprate Bi 2Sr 2CaCu 2O 8. Our observations have significant fundamental consequences because they are orthogonal to a k-space (Fermi-surface)–based picture of the cuprate CDMs but are consistent with strong-coupling r-space–based theories. Our findings imply that it is the latter that provides the intrinsic organizational principle for the cuprate CDM state.« less

Electron-Phonon and Electron-Electron Interactions in Individual Suspended Carbon Nanotubes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cronin, Stephen

2010-03-01

The fabrication of pristine, nearly defect-free, suspended carbon nanotubes (CNTs) enables the observation of several phenomena not seen before in carbon nanotubes, including breakdown of the Born-Oppenheimer approximation^1, mode selective electron-phonon coupling^2, and a Mott insulator transition^3. Raman spectroscopy of these nanotubes under applied gate and bias potentials reveals exceptionally strong electron-phonon coupling, arising from Kohn anomalies, which result in mode selective electron-phonon coupling, negative differential conductance (NDC), and non-equilibrium phonon populations^2,4. Due to the extremely long electron lifetimes, we observe a breakdown of the Born-Oppenheimer approximation, as deduced from the gate voltage-induced changes in the vibrational energies of suspended carbon nanotubes^1. We also report strikingly large variations in the Raman intensity of pristine metallic CNTs in response to gate voltages, which are attributed to a Mott insulating state of the strongly correlated electrons^3. As will be shown, preparing clean, defect-free devices is an essential prerequisite for studying the rich low-dimensional physics of CNTs. (1.) Bushmaker, A.W., Deshpande, V.V., Hsieh, S., Bockrath, M.W., and Cronin, S.B., ``Direct Observation of Born-Oppenheimer Approximation Breakdown in Carbon Nanotubes.'' Nano Letters, 9, 607 (2009). (2.) Bushmaker, A.W., Deshpande, V.V., Bockrath, M.W., and Cronin, S.B., ``Direct Observation of Mode Selective Electron-Phonon Coupling in Suspended Carbon Nanotubes.'' Nano Letters, 7, 3618 (2007) (3.) Bushmaker, A.W., Deshpande, V.V., Hsieh, S., Bockrath, M.W., and Cronin, S.B., ``Large Modulations in the Intensity of Raman-Scattered Light from Pristine Carbon Nanotubes.'' Physical Review Letters, 103, 067401 (2009). (4.) Bushmaker, A.W., Deshpande, V.V., Hsieh, S., Bockrath, M.W., and Cronin, S.B., ``Gate Voltage Controlled Non-Equilibrium and Non-Ohmic Behavior in Suspended Carbon Nanotubes.'' Nano Letters, 9, 2862 (2009)

Interplay of long-range and short-range Coulomb interactions in an Anderson-Mott insulator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baćani, Mirko; Novak, Mario; Orbanić, Filip; Prša, Krunoslav; Kokanović, Ivan; Babić, Dinko

2017-07-01

In this paper, we tackle the complexity of coexisting disorder and Coulomb electron-electron interactions (CEEIs) in solids by addressing a strongly disordered system with intricate CEEIs and a screening that changes both with charge carrier doping level Q and temperature T . We report on an experimental comparative study of the T dependencies of the electrical conductivity σ and magnetic susceptibility χ of polyaniline pellets doped with dodecylbenzenesulfonic acid over a wide range. This material is special within the class of doped polyaniline by exhibiting in the electronic transport a crossover between a low-T variable range hopping (VRH) and a high-T nearest-neighbor hopping (NNH) well below room temperature. Moreover, there is evidence of a soft Coulomb gap ΔC in the disorder band, which implies the existence of a long-range CEEI. Simultaneously, there is an onsite CEEI manifested as a Hubbard gap U and originating in the electronic structure of doped polyaniline, which consists of localized electron states with dynamically varying occupancy. Therefore, our samples represent an Anderson-Mott insulator in which long-range and short-range CEEIs coexist. The main result of the study is the presence of a crossover between low- and high-T regimes not only in σ (T ) but also in χ (T ) , the crossover temperature T* being essentially the same for both observables over the entire doping range. The relatively large electron localization length along the polymer chains results in U being small, between 12 and 20 meV for the high and low Q , respectively. Therefore, the thermal energy at T* is sufficiently large to lead to an effective closing of the Hubbard gap and the consequent appearance of NNH in the electronic transport within the disorder band. ΔC is considerably larger than U , decreasing from 190 to 30 meV as Q increases, and plays the role of an activation energy in the NNH.

Density matrix renormalization group study of a three-orbital Hubbard model with spin-orbit coupling in one dimension

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kaushal, Nitin; Herbrych, Jacek W.; Nocera, Alberto

Using the density matrix renormalization group technique we study the effect of spin-orbit coupling on a three-orbital Hubbard model in the (t 2g) 4 sector and in one dimension. Fixing the Hund coupling to a robust value compatible with some multiorbital materials, we present the phase diagram varying the Hubbard U and spin-orbit coupling λ, at zero temperature. Our results are shown to be qualitatively similar to those recently reported using the dynamical mean-field theory in higher dimensions, providing a robust basis to approximate many-body techniques. Among many results, we observe an interesting transition from an orbital-selective Mott phase tomore » an excitonic insulator with increasing λ at intermediate U. In the strong U coupling limit, we find a nonmagnetic insulator with an effective angular momentum <(J eff) 2>≠0 near the excitonic phase, smoothly connected to the <(J eff) 2>=0 regime. In conclusion, we also provide a list of quasi-one-dimensional materials where the physics discussed in this paper could be realized.« less

Density matrix renormalization group study of a three-orbital Hubbard model with spin-orbit coupling in one dimension

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaushal, Nitin; Herbrych, Jacek; Nocera, Alberto; Alvarez, Gonzalo; Moreo, Adriana; Reboredo, F. A.; Dagotto, Elbio

2017-10-01

Using the density matrix renormalization group technique we study the effect of spin-orbit coupling on a three-orbital Hubbard model in the (t2g) 4 sector and in one dimension. Fixing the Hund coupling to a robust value compatible with some multiorbital materials, we present the phase diagram varying the Hubbard U and spin-orbit coupling λ , at zero temperature. Our results are shown to be qualitatively similar to those recently reported using the dynamical mean-field theory in higher dimensions, providing a robust basis to approximate many-body techniques. Among many results, we observe an interesting transition from an orbital-selective Mott phase to an excitonic insulator with increasing λ at intermediate U . In the strong U coupling limit, we find a nonmagnetic insulator with an effective angular momentum 〈(Jeff)2〉≠0 near the excitonic phase, smoothly connected to the 〈(Jeff)2〉=0 regime. We also provide a list of quasi-one-dimensional materials where the physics discussed in this paper could be realized.

Realization of a scenario with two relaxation rates in the Hubbard Falicov-Kimball model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barman, H.; Laad, M. S.; Hassan, S. R.

2018-02-01

A single transport relaxation rate governs the decay of both longitudinal and Hall currents in Landau Fermi liquids (FL). Breakdown of this fundamental feature, first observed in two-dimensional cuprates and subsequently in other three-dimensional correlated systems close to the Mott metal-insulator transition, played a pivotal role in emergence of a non-FL (NFL) paradigm in higher dimensions D (>1 ) . Motivated hereby, we explore the emergence of this "two relaxation rates" scenario in the Hubbard Falicov-Kimball model (HFKM) using the dynamical mean-field theory (DMFT). Specializing to D =3 , we find, beyond a critical Falicov-Kimball (FK) interaction, that two distinct relaxation rates governing distinct temperature (T ) dependence of the longitudinal and Hall currents naturally emerges in the NFL metal. Our results show good accord with the experiment in V2 -yO3 near the metal-to-insulator transition (MIT). We rationalize this surprising finding by an analytical analysis of the structure of charge and spin Hamiltonians in the underlying impurity problem, specifically through a bosonization method applied to the Wolff model and connecting it to the x-ray edge problem.

Density matrix renormalization group study of a three-orbital Hubbard model with spin-orbit coupling in one dimension

DOE PAGES

Kaushal, Nitin; Herbrych, Jacek W.; Nocera, Alberto; ...

2017-10-09

Using the density matrix renormalization group technique we study the effect of spin-orbit coupling on a three-orbital Hubbard model in the (t 2g) 4 sector and in one dimension. Fixing the Hund coupling to a robust value compatible with some multiorbital materials, we present the phase diagram varying the Hubbard U and spin-orbit coupling λ, at zero temperature. Our results are shown to be qualitatively similar to those recently reported using the dynamical mean-field theory in higher dimensions, providing a robust basis to approximate many-body techniques. Among many results, we observe an interesting transition from an orbital-selective Mott phase tomore » an excitonic insulator with increasing λ at intermediate U. In the strong U coupling limit, we find a nonmagnetic insulator with an effective angular momentum <(J eff) 2>≠0 near the excitonic phase, smoothly connected to the <(J eff) 2>=0 regime. In conclusion, we also provide a list of quasi-one-dimensional materials where the physics discussed in this paper could be realized.« less

Electrically tunable transport and resistive switching in doped Ca2RuO4

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shen, Shida; Williamson, Morgan; Cao, Gang; Zhou, Jianshi; Goodenough, John; Tsoi, Maxim

We study electronic transport properties of Cr doped (2.5%) Mott insulator Ca2RuO4 where electric fields were previously found to induce an insulator-to-metal switching with potential industrial applications. In our experiments we observe a continuous reduction in the resistivity of Ca2RuO4 as a function of increasing electrical bias followed by an abrupt switching at higher biases. Interestingly, the observed switching is non-destructive and requires opposite bias polarities to switch from high-to-low and low-to-high resistance states. Combination of 2-, 3-, and 4-probe measurements provide a means to shed light on the origin of the switching and distinguish between its bulk and interfacial contributions. This work was supported in part by C-SPIN, one of six centers of STARnet, a Semiconductor Research Corporation program, sponsored by MARCO and DARPA, by NSF Grants DMR-1600057, DMR-1265162, and DMR-1122603, and by the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) Office of Sponsored Research (OSR) under Award No. OSR-2015-CRG4-2626.

Irreversibility and carriers control in two-dimensional electron gas at LaTiO3/SrTiO3 interface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bergeal, N.; Biscaras, J.; Hurand, S.; Feuillet-Palma, C.; Lesueur, J.; Rastogi, A.; Budhani, R. C.; Reyren, N.; Lesne, E.; Leboeuf, D.; Proust, C.

2013-03-01

It has been shown recently that a two-dimensional electron gas 2DEG could form at the interface of two insulators such as LaAlO3 and SrTiO3, or LaTiO3 (a Mott insulator) and SrTiO3. We present low temperature transport measurements on LaTiO3/SrTiO3 and LaAlO3/SrTiO3 hetero-structures, whose properties can be modulated by field effect using a metallic gate on the back of the substrate. Here we show that when the carrier density is electrostatically increased beyond a critical value, the added electrons escape into the SrTiO3 leading to an irreversible doping regime where all the electronic properties of the 2DEG saturate (carrier density, resistivity, superconducting transition...). The dynamic of leakage was studied using time resolved measurement. Based on a complete self-consistent description of the confinement well, a thermal model for the carriers escape has been developed, which quantitatively accounts for the data.

Electron-mediated relaxation following ultrafast pumping of strongly correlated materials: model evidence of a correlation-tuned crossover between thermal and nonthermal states.

PubMed

Moritz, B; Kemper, A F; Sentef, M; Devereaux, T P; Freericks, J K

2013-08-16

We examine electron-electron mediated relaxation following ultrafast electric field pump excitation of the fermionic degrees of freedom in the Falicov-Kimball model for correlated electrons. The results reveal a dichotomy in the temporal evolution of the system as one tunes through the Mott metal-to-insulator transition: in the metallic regime relaxation can be characterized by evolution toward a steady state well described by Fermi-Dirac statistics with an increased effective temperature; however, in the insulating regime this quasithermal paradigm breaks down with relaxation toward a nonthermal state with a complicated electronic distribution as a function of momentum. We characterize the behavior by studying changes in the energy, photoemission response, and electronic distribution as functions of time. This relaxation may be observable qualitatively on short enough time scales that the electrons behave like an isolated system not in contact with additional degrees of freedom which would act as a thermal bath, especially when using strong driving fields and studying materials whose physics may manifest the effects of correlations.

High-frequency effects in antiferromagnetic Sr3Ir2O7

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Williamson, Morgan; Seinige, Heidi; Shen, Shida; Wang, Cheng; Cao, Gang; Zhou, Jianshi; Goodenough, John; Tsoi, Maxim

Antiferromagnetic (AFM) spintronics is one of many promising routes for `beyond the CMOS' technologies where unique properties of AFM materials are exploited to achieve new and improved functionalities. AFMs are especially interesting for high-speed memory applications thanks to their high natural frequencies. Here we report the effects of high-frequency (microwave) currents on transport properties of antiferromagnetic Mott insulator Sr3Ir2O7. The microwaves at 3-7 GHz were found to affect the material's current-voltage characteristic and produce resonance-like features that we tentatively associate with the dissipationless magnonics recently predicted to occur in antiferromagnetic insulators subject to ac electric fields. Our observations support the potential of antiferromagnetic materials for high-speed/high-frequency spintronic applications. This work was supported in part by C-SPIN, one of six centers of STARnet, a Semiconductor Research Corporation program, sponsored by MARCO and DARPA, by NSF Grants DMR-1207577, DMR-1265162, DMR-1600057, and DMR-1122603, and by the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) Office of Sponsored Research (OSR) under Award No. OSR-2015-CRG4-2626.

Phase competition in a one-dimensional three-orbital Hubbard-Holstein model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Shaozhi; Tang, Yanfei; Maier, Thomas A.; Johnston, Steven

2018-05-01

We study the interplay between the electron-phonon (e -ph) and on-site electron-electron (e-e) interactions in a three-orbital Hubbard-Holstein model on an extended one-dimensional lattice using determinant quantum Monte Carlo. For weak e-e and e -ph interactions, we observe a competition between an orbital-selective Mott phase (OSMP) and a (multicomponent) charge-density-wave (CDW) insulating phase, with an intermediate metallic phase located between them. For large e-e and e -ph couplings, the OSMP and CDW phases persist, while the metallic phase develops short-range orbital correlations and becomes insulating when both the e-e and e -ph interactions are large but comparable. Many of our conclusions are in line with those drawn from a prior dynamical mean-field theory study of the two-orbital Hubbard-Holstein model [Phys. Rev. B 95, 121112(R) (2017), 10.1103/PhysRevB.95.121112] in infinite dimension, suggesting that the competition between the e -ph and e-e interactions in multiorbital Hubbard-Holstein models leads to rich physics, regardless of the dimension of the system.

Blowpipe Mineralogy for Physics/Environment: Highest-Possible-Tc SuperConductor (Beyond: (but via!!!) MgB2, Cuprates, Pnictides) Quest; BOTH PERMANENT FOREVER Carb-IDES SOLID-State Sequestration AND Drought(s)-Elimination

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Segler, Kurt; Williams, Wendell; Siegel, Edward

2011-03-01

Detailed are old blowpipe new applications: charcoal-block reduction of borates to yield ("N-NW" of MgB2) Overhauser-[PR 35,1,411(1987); Intl.J.Mod.Phys.1, 2 & 4, 927(1987)]-"land" predicted high-EST-POSSIBLE Tc SC "LiD2"; very-early: Siegel[Phys.Stat.Sol.(a)11,45(1972);Semiconductors.and Insulators 5: 39,47,62(1979)] carb-IDES SOLID-state phase-TRANSITIONED CHEMICALLY-REDOX"-REACTED STABLE PERMANENT LONG-term NOT "CO2" BUT C-sequestration: PROFITABLE "Grab and Sell" TRUMPS "cap and trade"!!!; Mott alloying/vertical metal-insulator transitions in "borax-(GLASS)-beads"; and very-earlySiegel [{3rd Intl.Conf.Alt.Energy }(1980)-vol.5/p.459!!!] "FLYING-WATER" Hindenberg-effect (H2-UP;H2O-DOWN) via Hydrogen-maximal-Archimedes-buoyancy "chemical-rain-in-pipelines", only via Siegel proprietary "magnetic-hydrogen-valve"(MHV): Renewables-Hydrogen-Water flexible versatile agile scaleable retrofitable integrated operating-system for PERMANENT drought(s)-elimination FOREVER!!!

Effect of oxygen vacancies on magnetic and transport properties of Sr2IrO4

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dwivedi, Vinod Kumar; Mukhopadhyay, Soumik

2018-05-01

Iridates have recently attracted growing interest because of their potential for realizing various interesting phases like interaction driven Mott-type insulator and magnetically driven Slater-type. In this paper, we present the magnetic and electrical transport properties of polycrystalline Sr2IrO4 synthesized by solid state reaction route. We find a ferromagnetic transition at 240 K. The Curie-Weiss law behavior hold good above the magnetic transition temperature TMag = 240 K with a small effective paramagnetic magnetic moment μeff = 0.25 µB/f.u. and a Curie-Weiss temperature, θCW = +100 K. Zero field cooled (ZFC) magnetization shows a gradual dcrease below 150 K, while same for field cooled (FC) below 50 K. Interestingly, below temperatures, ⁓ 10 K, a sharp increase in ZFC and FC magnetization can be seen. A temperature dependent resistivity reveals insulating behavior followed by power law mechanism. The sintering of sample in air leads to the very low value of resistivity is likely related to Sr or oxygen vacancies.

Effects of adsorbed pyridine derivatives and ultrathin atomic-layer-deposited alumina coatings on the conduction band-edge energy of TiO2 and on redox-shuttle-derived dark currents.

PubMed

Katz, Michael J; Vermeer, Michael J D; Farha, Omar K; Pellin, Michael J; Hupp, Joseph T

2013-01-15

Both the adsorption of t-butylpyridine and the atomic-layer deposition of ultrathin conformal coatings of insulators (such as alumina) are known to boost open-circuit photovoltages substantially for dye-sensitized solar cells. One attractive interpretation is that these modifiers significantly shift the conduction-edge energy of the electrode, thereby shifting the onset potential for dark current arising from the interception of injected electrons by solution-phase redox shuttle components such as Co(phenanthroline)(3)(3+) and triiodide. For standard, high-area, nanoporous photoelectrodes, band-edge energies are difficult to measure directly. In contrast, for flat electrodes they are readily accessible from Mott-Schottky analyses of impedance data. Using such electrodes (specifically TiO(2)), we find that neither organic nor inorganic electrode-surface modifiers shift the conduction-band-edge energy sufficiently to account fully for the beneficial effects on electrode behavior (i.e., the suppression of dark current). Additional experiments reveal that the efficacy of ultrathin coatings of Al(2)O(3) arises chiefly from the passivation of redox-catalytic surface states. In contrast, adsorbed t-butylpyridine appears to suppress dark currents mainly by physically blocking access of shuttle molecules to the electrode surface. Studies with other derivatives of pyridine, including sterically and/or electronically diverse derivatives, show that heterocycle adsorption and the concomitant suppression of dark current does not require the coordination of surface Ti(IV) or Al(III) atoms. Notably, the favorable (i.e., negative) shifts in onset potential for the flow of dark current engendered by organic and inorganic surface modifiers are additive. Furthermore, they appear to be largely insensitive to the identity of shuttle molecules.

Ultrafast Dynamics in Vanadium Dioxide: Separating Spatially Segregated Mixed Phase Dynamics in the Time-domain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hilton, David

2011-10-01

In correlated electronic systems, observed electronic and structural behavior results from the complex interplay between multiple, sometimes competing degrees-of- freedom. One such material used to study insulator-to-metal transitions is vanadium dioxide, which undergoes a phase transition from a monoclinic-insulating phase to a rutile-metallic phase when the sample is heated to 340 K. The major open question with this material is the relative influence of this structural phase transition (Peirels transition) and the effects of electronic correlations (Mott transition) on the observed insulator-to-metal transition. Answers to these major questions are complicated by vanadium dioxide's sensitivity to perturbations in the chemical structure in VO2. For example, related VxOy oxides with nearly a 2:1 ratio do not demonstrate the insulator-to- metal transition, while recent work has demonstrated that W:VO2 has demonstrated a tunable transition temperature controllable with tungsten doping. All of these preexisting results suggest that the observed electronic properties are exquisitely sensitive to the sample disorder. Using ultrafast spectroscopic techniques, it is now possible to impulsively excite this transition and investigate the photoinduced counterpart to this thermal phase transition in a strongly nonequilibrium regime. I will discuss our recent results studying the terahertz-frequency conductivity dynamics of this photoinduced phase transition in the poorly understood near threshold temperature range. We find a dramatic softening of the transition near the critical temperature, which results primarily from the mixed phase coexistence near the transition temperature. To directly study this mixed phase behavior, we directly study the nucleation and growth rates of the metallic phase in the parent insulator using non-degenerate optical pump-probe spectroscopy. These experiments measure, in the time- domain, the coexistent phase separation in VO2 (spatially separated insulator and metal islands) and, more importantly, their dynamic evolution in response to optical excitation.

Dicke superradiance as nondestructive probe for the state of atoms in optical lattices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

ten Brinke, Nicolai; Schützhold, Ralf

2016-04-01

We present a proposal for a probing scheme utilizing Dicke superradiance to obtain information about ultracold atoms in optical lattices. A probe photon is absorbed collectively by an ensemble of lattice atoms generating a Dicke state. The lattice dynamics (e.g., tunneling) affects the coherence properties of that Dicke state and thus alters the superradiant emission characteristics - which in turn provides insight into the lattice (dynamics). Comparing the Bose-Hubbard and the Fermi-Hubbard model, we find similar superradiance in the strongly interacting Mott insulator regime, but crucial differences in the weakly interacting (superfluid or metallic) phase. Furthermore, we study the possibility to detect whether a quantum phase transition between the two regimes can be considered adiabatic or a quantum quench.

Antiferromagnetic spinor condensates in a bichromatic superlattice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tang, Tao; Zhao, Lichao; Chen, Zihe; Liu, Yingmei

2017-04-01

A spinor Bose-Einstein condensate in an optical supelattice has been considered as a good quantum simulator for understanding mesoscopic magnetism. We report an experimental study on an antiferromagnetic spinor condensate in a bichromatic superlattice constructed by a cubic red-detuned optical lattice and a one-dimensional blue-detuned optical lattice. Our data demonstrate a few advantages of this bichromatic superlattice over a monochromatic lattice. One distinct advantage is that the bichromatic superlattice enables realizing the first-order superfluid to Mott-insulator phase transitions within a much wider range of magnetic fields. In addition, we discuss an apparent discrepancy between our data and the mean-field theory. We thank the National Science Foundation and the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology for financial support.

Imaging Optical Frequencies with 100  μHz Precision and 1.1  μm Resolution.

PubMed

Marti, G Edward; Hutson, Ross B; Goban, Akihisa; Campbell, Sara L; Poli, Nicola; Ye, Jun

2018-03-09

We implement imaging spectroscopy of the optical clock transition of lattice-trapped degenerate fermionic Sr in the Mott-insulating regime, combining micron spatial resolution with submillihertz spectral precision. We use these tools to demonstrate atomic coherence for up to 15 s on the clock transition and reach a record frequency precision of 2.5×10^{-19}. We perform the most rapid evaluation of trapping light shifts and record a 150 mHz linewidth, the narrowest Rabi line shape observed on a coherent optical transition. The important emerging capability of combining high-resolution imaging and spectroscopy will improve the clock precision, and provide a path towards measuring many-body interactions and testing fundamental physics.

Strong spin-orbit effects in transition metal oxides with tetrahedral coordination

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Forte, Filomena; Guerra, Delia; Autieri, Carmine; Romano, Alfonso; Noce, Canio; Avella, Adolfo

2018-05-01

To prove that spin-orbit coupling can play a relevant role in determining the magnetic structure of transition metal oxides with tetrahedral coordination, we investigate the d1 Mott insulator KOsO4, combining density functional theory calculations and the exact diagonalization approach. We find that the interplay between crystal field, strong spin-orbit coupling, electronic correlations and structural distortions brings the system towards an antiferromagnetic phase, characterized by a non-vanishing orbital angular momentum and anisotropy among the in-plane and the out-of-plane antiferromagnetic correlations. We also show that, due to the peculiar interplay between spin-orbit coupling, Hund's coupling and hopping connectivity the system is on the verge of developing short range ferromagnetic correlations marked by strong directionality.

Dynamical Quasicondensation of Hard-Core Bosons at Finite Momenta: A Non-equilibrium Condensation Effect

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heidrich-Meisner, Fabian; Vidmar, L.; Ronzheimer, J. P.; Hodgman, S.; Schreiber, M.; Braun, S.; Langer, S.; Bloch, I.; Schneider, U.

2016-05-01

Long-range order in quantum many-body systems is usually associated with equilibrium situations. Here, we experimentally investigate the quasicondensation of strongly interacting bosons at finite momenta in a far-from-equilibrium case. We prepare an inhomogeneous initial state consisting of one-dimensional Mott insulators in the center of otherwise empty one-dimensional chains in an optical lattice with a lattice constant d. After suddenly quenching the trapping potential to zero, we observe the onset of coherence in spontaneously forming quasicondensates in the lattice. Remarkably, the emerging phase order differs from the ground-state order and is characterized by peaks at finite momenta +/-(π / 2)(ℏ / d) in the momentum distribution function. Supported by the DFG via FOR 801.

Mass-imbalanced Hubbard model in optical lattice with site-dependent interactions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Le, Duc-Anh; Tran, Thi-Thu-Trang; Hoang, Anh-Tuan; Nguyen, Toan-Thang; Tran, Minh-Tien

2018-03-01

We study the half-filled mass-imbalanced Hubbard model with spatially alternating interactions on an optical bipartite lattice by means of the dynamical mean-field theory. The Mott transition is investigated via the spin-dependent density of states and double occupancies. The phase diagrams for the homogeneous phases at zero temperature are constructed numerically. The boundary between metallic and insulating phases at zero temperature is analytically derived within the dynamical mean field theory using the equation of motion approach as the impurity solver. We found that the metallic region is reduced with increasing interaction anisotropy or mass imbalance. Our results are closely relevant to current researches in ultracold fermion experiments and can be verified through experimental observations.

High-harmonic spectroscopy of ultrafast many-body dynamics in strongly correlated systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Silva, R. E. F.; Blinov, Igor V.; Rubtsov, Alexey N.; Smirnova, O.; Ivanov, M.

2018-05-01

We bring together two topics that, until now, have been the focus of intense but non-overlapping research efforts. The first concerns high-harmonic generation in solids, which occurs when an intense light field excites a highly non-equilibrium electronic response in a semiconductor or a dielectric. The second concerns many-body dynamics in strongly correlated systems such as the Mott insulator. We show that high-harmonic generation can be used to time-resolve ultrafast many-body dynamics associated with an optically driven phase transition, with accuracy far exceeding one cycle of the driving light field. Our work paves the way for time-resolving highly non-equilibrium many-body dynamics in strongly correlated systems, with few femtosecond accuracy.

Light-Cone and Diffusive Propagation of Correlations in a Many-Body Dissipative System.

PubMed

Bernier, Jean-Sébastien; Tan, Ryan; Bonnes, Lars; Guo, Chu; Poletti, Dario; Kollath, Corinna

2018-01-12

We analyze the propagation of correlations after a sudden interaction change in a strongly interacting quantum system in contact with an environment. In particular, we consider an interaction quench in the Bose-Hubbard model, deep within the Mott-insulating phase, under the effect of dephasing. We observe that dissipation effectively speeds up the propagation of single-particle correlations while reducing their coherence. In contrast, for two-point density correlations, the initial ballistic propagation regime gives way to diffusion at intermediate times. Numerical simulations, based on a time-dependent matrix product state algorithm, are supplemented by a quantitatively accurate fermionic quasiparticle approach providing an intuitive description of the initial dynamics in terms of holon and doublon excitations.

Dielectric evidence for possible type-II multiferroicity in α-RuCl3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zheng, JiaCheng; Cui, Yi; Li, TianRun; Ran, KeJing; Wen, JinSheng; Yu, WeiQiang

2018-05-01

$\\alpha$-RuCl$_3$ is a Mott insulator with a honeycomb lattice with strong spin-orbit coupling. We report dielectric measurements on $\\alpha$-RuCl$_3$ single crystals under field. At zero field, the dielectric constant, $\\epsilon$, drops rapidly when cooled through the magnetic transition temperature T$_N$. With increasing field, the onset of the drop in $\\epsilon$ tracks the T$_N$. Such behavior is absent with field above a critical value H$_c$ ~ 7.5 T, indicating the onset of a quantum phase transition. Our data suggest that the dielectric constant can be used as a probe of magnetic ordering in $\\alpha$-RuCl$_3$, and $\\alpha$-RuCl$_3$ is a possible type-II multiferroics.

Mott Transition of MnO under Pressure: A Comparison of Correlated Band Theories

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kasinathan, Deepa; Kunes, Jan; Koepernik, K

The electronic structure, magnetic moment, and volume collapse of MnO under pressure are obtained from four different correlated band theory methods; local density approximation+Hubbard U (LDA+U), pseudopotential self-interaction correction (pseudo-SIC), the hybrid functional (combined local exchange plus Hartree-Fock exchange), and the local spin density SIC (SIC-LSD) method. Each method treats correlation among the five Mn 3d orbitals (per spin), including their hybridization with three O 2p orbitals in the valence bands and their changes with pressure. The focus is on comparison of the methods for rock salt MnO (neglecting the observed transition to the NiAs structure in the 90-100 GPamore » range). Each method predicts a first-order volume collapse, but with variation in the predicted volume and critical pressure. Accompanying the volume collapse is a moment collapse, which for all methods is from high-spin to low-spin ((5/2){yields}(1/2)), not to nonmagnetic as the simplest scenario would have. The specific manner in which the transition occurs varies considerably among the methods: pseudo-SIC and SIC-LSD give insulator-to-metal, while LDA+U gives insulator-to-insulator and the hybrid method gives an insulator-to-semimetal transition. Projected densities of states above and below the transition are presented for each of the methods and used to analyze the character of each transition. In some cases the rhombohedral symmetry of the antiferromagnetically ordered phase clearly influences the character of the transition.« less

B a2NiOs O6 : A Dirac-Mott insulator with ferromagnetism near 100 K

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feng, Hai L.; Calder, Stuart; Ghimire, Madhav Prasad; Yuan, Ya-Hua; Shirako, Yuichi; Tsujimoto, Yoshihiro; Matsushita, Yoshitaka; Hu, Zhiwei; Kuo, Chang-Yang; Tjeng, Liu Hao; Pi, Tun-Wen; Soo, Yun-Liang; He, Jianfeng; Tanaka, Masahiko; Katsuya, Yoshio; Richter, Manuel; Yamaura, Kazunari

2016-12-01

The ferromagnetic semiconductor B a2NiOs O6 (Tmag˜100 K ) was synthesized at 6 GPa and 1500 °C. It crystallizes into a double perovskite structure [F m -3 m ; a =8.0428 (1 )Å ], where the N i2 + and O s6 + ions are perfectly ordered at the perovskite B site. We show that the spin-orbit coupling of O s6 + plays an essential role in opening the charge gap. The magnetic state was investigated by density functional theory calculations and powder neutron diffraction. The latter revealed a collinear ferromagnetic order in a >21 kOe magnetic field at 5 K. The ferromagnetic gapped state is fundamentally different from that of known dilute magnetic semiconductors such as (Ga,Mn)As and (Cd,Mn)Te (Tmag<180 K ), the spin-gapless semiconductor M n2CoAl (Tmag˜720 K ), and the ferromagnetic insulators EuO (Tmag˜70 K ) and B i3C r3O11 (Tmag˜220 K ). It is also qualitatively different from known ferrimagnetic insulators and semiconductors, which are characterized by an antiparallel spin arrangement. Our finding of the ferromagnetic semiconductivity of B a2NiOs O6 should increase interest in the platinum group oxides, because this alternative class of materials should be useful in the development of spintronic, quantum magnetic, and related devices.

Electronic evidence of an insulator–superconductor crossover in single-layer FeSe/SrTiO3 films

PubMed Central

He, Junfeng; Liu, Xu; Zhang, Wenhao; Zhao, Lin; Liu, Defa; He, Shaolong; Mou, Daixiang; Li, Fangsen; Tang, Chenjia; Li, Zhi; Wang, Lili; Peng, Yingying; Liu, Yan; Chen, Chaoyu; Yu, Li; Liu, Guodong; Dong, Xiaoli; Zhang, Jun; Chen, Chuangtian; Xu, Zuyan; Chen, Xi; Ma, Xucun; Xue, Qikun; Zhou, X. J.

2014-01-01

In high-temperature cuprate superconductors, it is now generally agreed that superconductivity is realized by doping an antiferromagnetic Mott (charge transfer) insulator. The doping-induced insulator-to-superconductor transition has been widely observed in cuprates, which provides important information for understanding the superconductivity mechanism. In the iron-based superconductors, however, the parent compound is mostly antiferromagnetic bad metal, raising a debate on whether an appropriate starting point should go with an itinerant picture or a localized picture. No evidence of doping-induced insulator–superconductor transition (or crossover) has been reported in the iron-based compounds so far. Here, we report an electronic evidence of an insulator–superconductor crossover observed in the single-layer FeSe film grown on a SrTiO3 substrate. By taking angle-resolved photoemission measurements on the electronic structure and energy gap, we have identified a clear evolution of an insulator to a superconductor with increasing carrier concentration. In particular, the insulator–superconductor crossover in FeSe/SrTiO3 film exhibits similar behaviors to that observed in the cuprate superconductors. Our results suggest that the observed insulator–superconductor crossover may be associated with the two-dimensionality that enhances electron localization or correlation. The reduced dimensionality and the interfacial effect provide a new pathway in searching for new phenomena and novel superconductors with a high transition temperature. PMID:25502774

B a 2 NiOs O 6 : A Dirac-Mott insulator with ferromagnetism near 100 K

DOE PAGES

Feng, Hai L.; Calder, Stuart; Ghimire, Madhav Prasad; ...

2016-12-28

In this study, the ferromagnetic semiconductor Ba 2NiOsO 6 ( T mag ~ 100 K ) was synthesized at 6 GPa and 1500 °C. It crystallizes into a double perovskite structure [Fm - 3m ; a = 8.0428 ( 1 ) Å], where the Ni 2+ and Os 6+ ions are perfectly ordered at the perovskite B site. We show that the spin-orbit coupling of Os 6+ plays an essential role in opening the charge gap. The magnetic state was investigated by density functional theory calculations and powder neutron diffraction. The latter revealed a collinear ferromagnetic order in a >more » 21 kOe magnetic field at 5 K. The ferromagnetic gapped state is fundamentally different from that of known dilute magnetic semiconductors such as (Ga,Mn)As and (Cd,Mn)Te ( T mag < 180 K ), the spin-gapless semiconductor Mn 2 CoAl ( T mag ~ 720 K ), and the ferromagnetic insulators EuO ( T mag ~ 70 K ) and Bi 3Cr 3O 11 ( T mag ~ 220 K ). It is also qualitatively different from known ferrimagnetic insulators and semiconductors, which are characterized by an antiparallel spin arrangement. Our finding of the ferromagnetic semiconductivity of Ba 2NiOsO 6 should increase interest in the platinum group oxides, because this alternative class of materials should be useful in the development of spintronic, quantum magnetic, and related devices.« less

B a 2 NiOs O 6 : A Dirac-Mott insulator with ferromagnetism near 100 K

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Feng, Hai L.; Calder, Stuart; Ghimire, Madhav Prasad

In this study, the ferromagnetic semiconductor Ba 2NiOsO 6 ( T mag ~ 100 K ) was synthesized at 6 GPa and 1500 °C. It crystallizes into a double perovskite structure [Fm - 3m ; a = 8.0428 ( 1 ) Å], where the Ni 2+ and Os 6+ ions are perfectly ordered at the perovskite B site. We show that the spin-orbit coupling of Os 6+ plays an essential role in opening the charge gap. The magnetic state was investigated by density functional theory calculations and powder neutron diffraction. The latter revealed a collinear ferromagnetic order in a >more » 21 kOe magnetic field at 5 K. The ferromagnetic gapped state is fundamentally different from that of known dilute magnetic semiconductors such as (Ga,Mn)As and (Cd,Mn)Te ( T mag < 180 K ), the spin-gapless semiconductor Mn 2 CoAl ( T mag ~ 720 K ), and the ferromagnetic insulators EuO ( T mag ~ 70 K ) and Bi 3Cr 3O 11 ( T mag ~ 220 K ). It is also qualitatively different from known ferrimagnetic insulators and semiconductors, which are characterized by an antiparallel spin arrangement. Our finding of the ferromagnetic semiconductivity of Ba 2NiOsO 6 should increase interest in the platinum group oxides, because this alternative class of materials should be useful in the development of spintronic, quantum magnetic, and related devices.« less

Asymmetries in surface waves and reflection/transmission characteristics associated with topological insulators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mackay, Tom G.; Chiadini, Francesco; Fiumara, Vincenzo; Scaglione, Antonio; Lakhtakia, Akhlesh

2017-08-01

Three numerical studies were undertaken involving the interactions of plane waves with topological insulators. In each study, the topologically insulating surface states of the topological insulator were represented through a surface admittance. Canonical boundary-value problems were solved for the following cases: (i) Dyakonov surface-wave propagation guided by the planar interface of a columnar thin film and an isotropic dielectric topological insulator; (ii) Dyakonov-Tamm surface-wave propagation guided by the planar interface of a structurally chiral material and an isotropic dielectric topological insulator; and (iii) reflection and transmission due to the planar interface of a topologically insulating columnar thin film and vacuum. The nonzero surface admittance resulted in asymmetries in the wave speeds and decay constants of the surface waves in studies (i) and (ii). The nonzero surface admittance resulted in asymmetries in the reflectances and transmittances in study (iii).

Gaps, Pseudogaps, and the Nature of Charge in Holographic Fermion Models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vanacore, Garrett; Phillips, Philip

Building on prior holographic constructions of Fermi arcs and Mott physics, we investigate the landscape of gapped and gapless strongly-correlated phases resulting from bulk fermion interactions in gauge/gravity duality. We test a proposed connection between bulk chiral symmetry and gapless boundary states, and discuss implications for discrete symmetry breaking in pseudogapped systems like the cuprate superconductors. Numerical methods are used to treat gravitational backreaction of bulk fermions, allowing more rigorous investigation of the existence of holographic Fermi surfaces and their adherence to Luttinger's rule. We use these techniques to study deviations from Luttinger's rule in holography, testing a recent claim that momentum-deconfined charges are at the heart of the Mott state.

The Statistical Fragmentation Theory of N. F. Mott

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grady, Dennis

2004-07-01

For a brief period during the height of World War II, Neville F. Mott left his position at the University of Bristol and headed up a concerted theoretical effort at Fort Halstead, UK, to investigate the operational science of weapons and armor technology. The seminal achievements resulting from the efforts of the participating scientists are extraordinary and have provided the basis for much of the continuing research in this field over the intervening six decades. N. F. Mott chose to study the phenomenon of the explosive-driven fragmentation of exploding shell cases. The approaches pursued by Mott are documented in several interim reports and open literature publications and offer a fascinating look into the insightful thinking and scientific methods of one of the preeminent physicists of the last century. This presentation offers a perspective into the several theoretical approaches pursued by Mott. In particular, the hallmark relation for the representation of exploding munitions fragmentation data to the present day is the Mott distribution. The efforts of Mott leading to this distribution are explored and a judgment is offered as to whether Mott himself would use this distribution today.

Spin Bose-metal phase in a spin- (1)/(2) model with ring exchange on a two-leg triangular strip

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sheng, D. N.; Motrunich, Olexei I.; Fisher, Matthew P. A.

2009-05-01

Recent experiments on triangular lattice organic Mott insulators have found evidence for a two-dimensional (2D) spin liquid in close proximity to the metal-insulator transition. A Gutzwiller wave function study of the triangular lattice Heisenberg model with a four-spin ring exchange term appropriate in this regime has found that the projected spinon Fermi sea state has a low variational energy. This wave function, together with a slave particle-gauge theory analysis, suggests that this putative spin liquid possesses spin correlations that are singular along surfaces in momentum space, i.e., “Bose surfaces.” Signatures of this state, which we will refer to as a “spin Bose metal” (SBM), are expected to manifest in quasi-one-dimensional (quasi-1D) ladder systems: the discrete transverse momenta cut through the 2D Bose surface leading to a distinct pattern of 1D gapless modes. Here, we search for a quasi-1D descendant of the triangular lattice SBM state by exploring the Heisenberg plus ring model on a two-leg triangular strip (zigzag chain). Using density matrix renormalization group (DMRG) supplemented by variational wave functions and a bosonization analysis, we map out the full phase diagram. In the absence of ring exchange the model is equivalent to the J1-J2 Heisenberg chain, and we find the expected Bethe-chain and dimerized phases. Remarkably, moderate ring exchange reveals a new gapless phase over a large swath of the phase diagram. Spin and dimer correlations possess singular wave vectors at particular “Bose points” (remnants of the 2D Bose surface) and allow us to identify this phase as the hoped for quasi-1D descendant of the triangular lattice SBM state. We use bosonization to derive a low-energy effective theory for the zigzag spin Bose metal and find three gapless modes and one Luttinger parameter controlling all power law correlations. Potential instabilities out of the zigzag SBM give rise to other interesting phases such as a period-3 valence bond solid or a period-4 chirality order, which we discover in the DMRG. Another interesting instability is into a spin Bose-metal phase with partial ferromagnetism (spin polarization of one spinon band), which we also find numerically using the DMRG.

Mott localization in a pure stripe antiferromagnet Rb 1 - δ Fe 1.5 - σ S 2

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wang, Meng; Yi, Ming; Cao, Huibo

A combination of neutron diffraction and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy measurements on a pure antiferromagnetic stripe Rb 1-δFe 1.5-σS 2 is reported. A neutron diffraction experiment on a powder sample shows that a 98% volume fraction of the sample is in the antiferromagnetic stripe phase with rhombic iron vacancy order and a refined composition of Rb 0.66Fe 1.36S 2, and that only 2% of the sample is in the block antiferromagnetic phase with √5×√5 iron vacancy order. Furthermore, a neutron diffraction experiment on a single crystal shows that there is only a single phase with the stripe antiferromagnetic order with themore » refined composition of Rb 0.78Fe 1.35S 2, while the phase with block antiferromagnetic order is absent. Angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy measurements on the same crystal with the pure stripe phase reveal that the electronic structure is gapped at the Fermi level with a gap larger than 0.325 eV. The data collectively demonstrate that the extra 10% iron vacancies in addition to the rhombic iron vacancy order effectively impede the formation of the block antiferromagnetic phase; the data also suggest that the stripe antiferromagnetic phase with rhombic iron vacancy order is a Mott insulator.« less

Orthorhombic fulleride (CH3NH2)K3C60 close to Mott-Hubbard instability: Ab initio study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Potočnik, Anton; Manini, Nicola; Komelj, Matej; Tosatti, Erio; Arčon, Denis

2012-08-01

We study the electronic structure and magnetic interactions in methylamine-intercalated orthorhombic alkali-doped fullerene (CH3NH2)K3C60 within the density functional theory. As in the simpler ammonia intercalated compound (NH3)K3C60, the orthorhombic crystal-field anisotropy Δ lifts the t1u triple degeneracy at the Γ point and drives the system deep into the Mott-insulating phase. However, the computed Δ and conduction electron bandwidth W cannot alone account for the abnormally low experimental Néel temperature, TN=11 K, of the methylamine compound, compared to the much higher value TN=40 K of the ammonia one. Significant interactions between CH3NH2 and C603- are responsible for the stabilization of particular fullerene-cage distortions and the ensuing low-spin S=1/2 state. These interactions also seem to affect the magnetic properties, as interfullerene exchange interactions depend on the relative orientation of deformations of neighboring C603- molecules. For the ferro-orientational order of CH3NH2-K+ groups we find an apparent reduced dimensionality in magnetic exchange interactions, which may explain the suppressed Néel temperature. The disorder in exchange interactions caused by orientational disorder of CH3NH2-K+ groups could further contribute to this suppression.

Coexistence of static magnetism and superconductivity in SmFeAsO(1-x)F(x) as revealed by muon spin rotation.

PubMed

Drew, A J; Niedermayer, Ch; Baker, P J; Pratt, F L; Blundell, S J; Lancaster, T; Liu, R H; Wu, G; Chen, X H; Watanabe, I; Malik, V K; Dubroka, A; Rössle, M; Kim, K W; Baines, C; Bernhard, C

2009-04-01

The recent observation of superconductivity with critical temperatures (Tc) up to 55 K in the pnictide RFeAsO(1-x)F(x), where R is a lanthanide, marks the first discovery of a non-copper-oxide-based layered high-Tc superconductor. It has raised the suspicion that these new materials share a similar pairing mechanism to the cuprate superconductors, as both families exhibit superconductivity following charge doping of a magnetic parent material. In this context, it is important to follow the evolution of the microscopic magnetic properties of the pnictides with doping and hence to determine whether magnetic correlations coexist with superconductivity. Here, we present a muon spin rotation study on SmFeAsO(1-x)F(x), with x=0-0.30 that shows that, as in the cuprates, static magnetism persists well into the superconducting regime. This analogy is quite surprising as the parent compounds of the two families have rather different magnetic ground states: itinerant spin density wave for the pnictides contrasted with the Mott-Hubbard insulator in the cuprates. Our findings therefore suggest that the proximity to magnetic order and associated soft magnetic fluctuations, rather than strong electronic correlations in the vicinity of a Mott-Hubbard transition, may be the key ingredients of high-Tc superconductors.

Dynamics of correlation-frozen antinodal quasiparticles in superconducting cuprates

PubMed Central

Cilento, Federico; Manzoni, Giulia; Sterzi, Andrea; Peli, Simone; Ronchi, Andrea; Crepaldi, Alberto; Boschini, Fabio; Cacho, Cephise; Chapman, Richard; Springate, Emma; Eisaki, Hiroshi; Greven, Martin; Berciu, Mona; Kemper, Alexander F.; Damascelli, Andrea; Capone, Massimo; Giannetti, Claudio; Parmigiani, Fulvio

2018-01-01

Many puzzling properties of high–critical temperature (Tc) superconducting (HTSC) copper oxides have deep roots in the nature of the antinodal quasiparticles, the elementary excitations with wave vector parallel to the Cu–O bonds. These electronic states are most affected by the onset of antiferromagnetic correlations and charge instabilities, and they host the maximum of the anisotropic superconducting gap and pseudogap. We use time-resolved extreme-ultraviolet photoemission with proper photon energy (18 eV) and time resolution (50 fs) to disclose the ultrafast dynamics of the antinodal states in a prototypical HTSC cuprate. After photoinducing a nonthermal charge redistribution within the Cu and O orbitals, we reveal a dramatic momentum-space differentiation of the transient electron dynamics. Whereas the nodal quasiparticle distribution is heated up as in a conventional metal, new quasiparticle states transiently emerge at the antinodes, similarly to what is expected for a photoexcited Mott insulator, where the frozen charges can be released by an impulsive excitation. This transient antinodal metallicity is mapped into the dynamics of the O-2p bands, thus directly demonstrating the intertwining between the low- and high-energy scales that is typical of correlated materials. Our results suggest that the correlation-driven freezing of the electrons moving along the Cu–O bonds, analogous to the Mott localization mechanism, constitutes the starting point for any model of high-Tc superconductivity and other exotic phases of HTSC cuprates. PMID:29507885

Metal-insulator transitions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Imada, Masatoshi; Fujimori, Atsushi; Tokura, Yoshinori

1998-10-01

Metal-insulator transitions are accompanied by huge resistivity changes, even over tens of orders of magnitude, and are widely observed in condensed-matter systems. This article presents the observations and current understanding of the metal-insulator transition with a pedagogical introduction to the subject. Especially important are the transitions driven by correlation effects associated with the electron-electron interaction. The insulating phase caused by the correlation effects is categorized as the Mott Insulator. Near the transition point the metallic state shows fluctuations and orderings in the spin, charge, and orbital degrees of freedom. The properties of these metals are frequently quite different from those of ordinary metals, as measured by transport, optical, and magnetic probes. The review first describes theoretical approaches to the unusual metallic states and to the metal-insulator transition. The Fermi-liquid theory treats the correlations that can be adiabatically connected with the noninteracting picture. Strong-coupling models that do not require Fermi-liquid behavior have also been developed. Much work has also been done on the scaling theory of the transition. A central issue for this review is the evaluation of these approaches in simple theoretical systems such as the Hubbard model and t-J models. Another key issue is strong competition among various orderings as in the interplay of spin and orbital fluctuations. Experimentally, the unusual properties of the metallic state near the insulating transition have been most extensively studied in d-electron systems. In particular, there is revived interest in transition-metal oxides, motivated by the epoch-making findings of high-temperature superconductivity in cuprates and colossal magnetoresistance in manganites. The article reviews the rich phenomena of anomalous metallicity, taking as examples Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, and Ru compounds. The diverse phenomena include strong spin and orbital fluctuations, mass renormalization effects, incoherence of charge dynamics, and phase transitions under control of key parameters such as band filling, bandwidth, and dimensionality. These parameters are experimentally varied by doping, pressure, chemical composition, and magnetic fields. Much of the observed behavior can be described by the current theory. Open questions and future problems are also extracted from comparison between experimental results and theoretical achievements.

Method and apparatus for fabrication of high gradient insulators with parallel surface conductors spaced less than one millimeter apart

DOEpatents

Sanders, David M.; Decker, Derek E.

1999-01-01

Optical patterns and lithographic techniques are used as part of a process to embed parallel and evenly spaced conductors in the non-planar surfaces of an insulator to produce high gradient insulators. The approach extends the size that high gradient insulating structures can be fabricated as well as improves the performance of those insulators by reducing the scale of the alternating parallel lines of insulator and conductor along the surface. This fabrication approach also substantially decreases the cost required to produce high gradient insulators.

Nearly free electrons in a 5d delafossite oxide metal.

PubMed

Kushwaha, Pallavi; Sunko, Veronika; Moll, Philip J W; Bawden, Lewis; Riley, Jonathon M; Nandi, Nabhanila; Rosner, Helge; Schmidt, Marcus P; Arnold, Frank; Hassinger, Elena; Kim, Timur K; Hoesch, Moritz; Mackenzie, Andrew P; King, Phil D C

2015-10-01

Understanding the role of electron correlations in strong spin-orbit transition-metal oxides is key to the realization of numerous exotic phases including spin-orbit-assisted Mott insulators, correlated topological solids, and prospective new high-temperature superconductors. To date, most attention has been focused on the 5d iridium-based oxides. We instead consider the Pt-based delafossite oxide PtCoO2. Our transport measurements, performed on single-crystal samples etched to well-defined geometries using focused ion beam techniques, yield a room temperature resistivity of only 2.1 microhm·cm (μΩ-cm), establishing PtCoO2 as the most conductive oxide known. From angle-resolved photoemission and density functional theory, we show that the underlying Fermi surface is a single cylinder of nearly hexagonal cross-section, with very weak dispersion along k z . Despite being predominantly composed of d-orbital character, the conduction band is remarkably steep, with an average effective mass of only 1.14m e. Moreover, the sharp spectral features observed in photoemission remain well defined with little additional broadening for more than 500 meV below E F, pointing to suppressed electron-electron scattering. Together, our findings establish PtCoO2 as a model nearly-free-electron system in a 5d delafossite transition-metal oxide.

Nearly free electrons in a 5d delafossite oxide metal

PubMed Central

Kushwaha, Pallavi; Sunko, Veronika; Moll, Philip J. W.; Bawden, Lewis; Riley, Jonathon M.; Nandi, Nabhanila; Rosner, Helge; Schmidt, Marcus P.; Arnold, Frank; Hassinger, Elena; Kim, Timur K.; Hoesch, Moritz; Mackenzie, Andrew P.; King, Phil D. C.

2015-01-01

Understanding the role of electron correlations in strong spin-orbit transition-metal oxides is key to the realization of numerous exotic phases including spin-orbit–assisted Mott insulators, correlated topological solids, and prospective new high-temperature superconductors. To date, most attention has been focused on the 5d iridium-based oxides. We instead consider the Pt-based delafossite oxide PtCoO2. Our transport measurements, performed on single-crystal samples etched to well-defined geometries using focused ion beam techniques, yield a room temperature resistivity of only 2.1 microhm·cm (μΩ-cm), establishing PtCoO2 as the most conductive oxide known. From angle-resolved photoemission and density functional theory, we show that the underlying Fermi surface is a single cylinder of nearly hexagonal cross-section, with very weak dispersion along kz. Despite being predominantly composed of d-orbital character, the conduction band is remarkably steep, with an average effective mass of only 1.14me. Moreover, the sharp spectral features observed in photoemission remain well defined with little additional broadening for more than 500 meV below EF, pointing to suppressed electron-electron scattering. Together, our findings establish PtCoO2 as a model nearly-free–electron system in a 5d delafossite transition-metal oxide. PMID:26601308

Stability of the antiferromagnetic state in the electron doped iridates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bhowal, Sayantika; Moradi Kurdestany, Jamshid; Satpathy, Sashi

2018-06-01

Iridates such as Sr2IrO4 are of considerable interest owing to the formation of the Mott insulating state driven by a large spin–orbit coupling. However, in contrast to the expectation from the Nagaoka theorem that a single doped hole or electron destroys the anti-ferromagnetic (AFM) state of the half-filled Hubbard model in the large U limit, the anti-ferromagnetism persists in the doped Iridates for a large dopant concentration beyond half-filling. With a tight-binding description of the relevant states by the third-neighbor (t 1, t 2, t 3, U) Hubbard model on the square lattice, we examine the stability of the AFM state to the formation of a spin spiral state in the strong coupling limit. The third-neighbor interaction t 3 is important for the description of the Fermi surface of the electron doped system. A phase diagram in the parameter space is obtained for the regions of stability of the AFM state. Our results qualitatively explain the robustness of the AFM state in the electron doped iridate (such as Sr2‑x La x IrO4), observed in many experiments, where the AFM state continues to be stable until a critical dopant concentration.

Photon Counting as a Probe of Superfluidity in a Two-Band Bose-Hubbard System Coupled to a Cavity Field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rajaram, Sara; Trivedi, Nandini

2013-12-01

We show that photon number measurement can be used to detect superfluidity for a two-band Bose-Hubbard model coupled to a cavity field. The atom-photon coupling induces transitions between the two internal atomic levels and results in entangled polaritonic states. In the presence of a cavity field, we find different photon numbers in the Mott-insulating versus superfluid phases, providing a method of distinguishing the atomic phases by photon counting. Furthermore, we examine the dynamics of the photon field after a rapid quench to zero atomic hopping by increasing the well depth. We find a robust correlation between the field’s quench dynamics and the initial superfluid order parameter, thereby providing a novel and accurate method of determining the order parameter.

Doping-Based Stabilization of the M2 Phase in Free-Standing VO2 Nanostructures at Room Temperature

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Strelcov, Evgheni; Tselev, Alexander; Ivanov, Ilia N

2012-01-01

A new high-yield method of doping VO2 nanostructures with aluminum is proposed, which renders possible stabilization of the monoclinic M2 phase in free-standing nanoplatelets in ambient conditions and opens an opportunity for realization of a purely electronic Mott Transition Field-Effect Transistor without an accompanying structural transition. The synthesized free-standing M2-phase nanostructures are shown to have very high crystallinity and an extremely sharp temperature-driven metal-insulator transition. A combination of x-ray microdiffraction, micro-Raman spectroscopy, Energy-Dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and four-probe electrical measurements allowed thorough characterization of the doped nanostructures. Light is shed onto some aspects of the nanostructure growth, and the temperature-doping levelmore » phase diagram is established.« less

Composite boson mapping for lattice boson systems.

PubMed

Huerga, Daniel; Dukelsky, Jorge; Scuseria, Gustavo E

2013-07-26

We present a canonical mapping transforming physical boson operators into quadratic products of cluster composite bosons that preserves matrix elements of operators when a physical constraint is enforced. We map the 2D lattice Bose-Hubbard Hamiltonian into 2×2 composite bosons and solve it within a generalized Hartree-Bogoliubov approximation. The resulting Mott insulator-superfluid phase diagram reproduces well quantum Monte Carlo results. The Higgs boson behavior in the superfluid phase along the unit density line is unraveled and in remarkable agreement with experiments. Results for the properties of the ground and excited states are competitive with other state-of-the-art approaches, but at a fraction of their computational cost. The composite boson mapping here introduced can be readily applied to frustrated many-body systems where most methodologies face significant hurdles.

Evidence for a Nematic Phase in La 1.75 Sr 0.25 NiO 4

DOE PAGES

Zhong, Ruidan; Winn, Barry L.; Gu, Genda; ...

2017-04-28

Determining the nature of electronic states in doped Mott insulators remains a challenging task. In the case of tetragonal La 2 - xSr xNiO 4, the occurrence of diagonal charge and spin stripe order in the ground state is now well established. In contrast, the nature of the high-temperature “disordered” state from which the stripe order develops has long been a subject of controversy, with considerable speculation regarding a polaronic liquid. Following the recent detection of dynamic charge stripes, in this paper we use neutron scattering measurements on an x = 0.25 crystal to demonstrate that the dispersion of themore » charge-stripe excitations is anisotropic. Finally, this observation provides compelling evidence for the presence of electronic nematic order.« less

Contour-time approach to the Bose-Hubbard model in the strong coupling regime: Studying two-point spatio-temporal correlations at the Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov level

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fitzpatrick, Matthew R. C.; Kennett, Malcolm P.

2018-05-01

We develop a formalism that allows the study of correlations in space and time in both the superfluid and Mott insulating phases of the Bose-Hubbard Model. Specifically, we obtain a two particle irreducible effective action within the contour-time formalism that allows for both equilibrium and out of equilibrium phenomena. We derive equations of motion for both the superfluid order parameter and two-point correlation functions. To assess the accuracy of this formalism, we study the equilibrium solution of the equations of motion and compare our results to existing strong coupling methods as well as exact methods where possible. We discuss applications of this formalism to out of equilibrium situations.

Splitting of electrons and violation of the Luttinger sum rule

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Quinn, Eoin

2018-03-01

We obtain a controlled description of a strongly correlated regime of electronic behavior. We begin by arguing that there are two ways to characterize the electronic degree of freedom, either by the canonical fermion algebra or the graded Lie algebra su (2 |2 ) . The first underlies the Fermi liquid description of correlated matter, and we identify a regime governed by the latter. We exploit an exceptional central extension of su (2 |2 ) to employ a perturbative scheme recently developed by Shastry and obtain a series of successive approximations for the electronic Green's function. We then focus on the leading approximation, which reveals a splitting in two of the electronic dispersion. The Luttinger sum rule is violated, and a Mott metal-insulator transition is exhibited. We offer a perspective.

Ultrafast Doublon Dynamics in Photoexcited 1 T -TaS2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ligges, M.; Avigo, I.; Golež, D.; Strand, H. U. R.; Beyazit, Y.; Hanff, K.; Diekmann, F.; Stojchevska, L.; Kalläne, M.; Zhou, P.; Rossnagel, K.; Eckstein, M.; Werner, P.; Bovensiepen, U.

2018-04-01

Strongly correlated materials exhibit intriguing properties caused by intertwined microscopic interactions that are hard to disentangle in equilibrium. Employing nonequilibrium time-resolved photoemission spectroscopy on the quasi-two-dimensional transition-metal dichalcogenide 1 T -Ta S2 , we identify a spectroscopic signature of doubly occupied sites (doublons) that reflects fundamental Mott physics. Doublon-hole recombination is estimated to occur on timescales of electronic hopping ℏ/J ≈14 fs . Despite strong electron-phonon coupling, the dynamics can be explained by purely electronic effects captured by the single-band Hubbard model under the assumption of weak hole doping, in agreement with our static sample characterization. This sensitive interplay of static doping and vicinity to the metal-insulator transition suggests a way to modify doublon relaxation on the few-femtosecond timescale.

An exact sum-rule for the Hubbard model: an historical/pedagogical approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Di Matteo, S.; Claveau, Y.

2017-07-01

The aim of the present article is to derive an exact integral equation for the Green function of the Hubbard model through an equation-of-motion procedure, like in the original Hubbard papers. Though our exact integral equation does not allow to solve the Hubbard model, it represents a strong constraint on its approximate solutions. An analogous sum rule has been already obtained in the literature, through the use of a spectral moment technique. We think however that our equation-of-motion procedure can be more easily related to the historical procedure of the original Hubbard papers. We also discuss examples of possible applications of the sum rule and propose and analyse a solution, fulfilling it, that can be used for a pedagogical introduction to the Mott-Hubbard metal-insulator transition.

Magnetic order and phase transition in the iron oxysulfide La2O2Fe2OS2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oogarah, Reeya K.; Suard, Emmanuelle; McCabe, Emma E.

2018-01-01

The Mott-insulating iron oxychalcogenides exhibit complex magnetic behaviour and we report here a neutron diffraction investigation into the magnetic ordering in La2O2Fe2OS2. This quaternary oxysulfide adopts the anti-Sr2MnO2Mn2Sb2-type structure (described by space group I4/mmm) and orders antiferromagnetically below TN = 105 K. We consider both its long-range magnetic structure and its magnetic microstructure, and the onset of magnetic order. It adopts the multi-k vector "2k" magnetic structure (k = (1/2 0 1/2) and k = (0 1/2 1/2) and has similarities with related iron oxychalcogenides, illustrating the robust nature of the "2k" magnetic structure.

Disordered dimer state in electron-doped Sr 3 Ir 2 O 7

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hogan, Tom; Dally, Rebecca; Upton, Mary

2016-09-06

Spin excitations are explored in the electron-doped spin-orbit Mott insulator (Sr 1-xLa x) 3Ir 2O 7. As this bilayer square lattice system is doped into the metallic regime, long-range antiferromagnetism vanishes, yet a spectrum of gapped spin excitation remains. Excitation lifetimes are strongly damped with increasing carrier concentration, and the energy-integrated spectral weight becomes nearly momentum independent as static spin order is suppressed. Local magnetic moments, absent in the parent system, grow in metallic samples and approach values consistent with one J=12 impurity per electron doped. Our combined data suggest that the magnetic spectra of metallic (Sr 1-xLa x) 3Irmore » 2O 7 are best described by excitations out of a disordered dimer state.« less

Vortices, skyrmions, and chirality waves in frustrated Mott insulators with a quenched periodic array of impurities

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hayami, Satoru; Lin, Shi -Zeng; Kamiya, Yoshitomo

Finite-Q magnetic instabilities are rather common in frustrated magnets. When the magnetic susceptibility is maximized at multiple-Q vectors related through lattice symmetry operations, exotic magnetic orderings such as vortex and skyrmion crystals may follow. Here, we show that a periodic array of nonmagnetic impurities, which can be realized through charge density wave ordering, leads to a rich phase diagram featuring a plethora of chiral magnetic phases, especially when there is a simple relation between the reciprocal vectors of the impurity superlattice and the magnetic Q vectors. We also investigate the effect of changing the impurity concentration or disturbing the impuritymore » array with small quenched randomness. Lastly, alternative realizations of impurity superlattices are briefly discussed.« less

Vortices, skyrmions, and chirality waves in frustrated Mott insulators with a quenched periodic array of impurities

DOE PAGES

Hayami, Satoru; Lin, Shi -Zeng; Kamiya, Yoshitomo; ...

2016-11-10

Finite-Q magnetic instabilities are rather common in frustrated magnets. When the magnetic susceptibility is maximized at multiple-Q vectors related through lattice symmetry operations, exotic magnetic orderings such as vortex and skyrmion crystals may follow. Here, we show that a periodic array of nonmagnetic impurities, which can be realized through charge density wave ordering, leads to a rich phase diagram featuring a plethora of chiral magnetic phases, especially when there is a simple relation between the reciprocal vectors of the impurity superlattice and the magnetic Q vectors. We also investigate the effect of changing the impurity concentration or disturbing the impuritymore » array with small quenched randomness. Lastly, alternative realizations of impurity superlattices are briefly discussed.« less

Evidence for a Nematic Phase in La 1.75 Sr 0.25 NiO 4

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhong, Ruidan; Winn, Barry L.; Gu, Genda

Determining the nature of electronic states in doped Mott insulators remains a challenging task. In the case of tetragonal La 2 - xSr xNiO 4, the occurrence of diagonal charge and spin stripe order in the ground state is now well established. In contrast, the nature of the high-temperature “disordered” state from which the stripe order develops has long been a subject of controversy, with considerable speculation regarding a polaronic liquid. Following the recent detection of dynamic charge stripes, in this paper we use neutron scattering measurements on an x = 0.25 crystal to demonstrate that the dispersion of themore » charge-stripe excitations is anisotropic. Finally, this observation provides compelling evidence for the presence of electronic nematic order.« less

Numerical evidence of fluctuating stripes in the normal state of high-Tc cuprate superconductors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Edwin W.; Mendl, Christian B.; Liu, Shenxiu; Johnston, Steve; Jiang, Hong-Chen; Moritz, Brian; Devereaux, Thomas P.

2017-12-01

Upon doping, Mott insulators often exhibit symmetry breaking where charge carriers and their spins organize into patterns known as stripes. For high-transition temperature cuprate superconductors, stripes are widely suspected to exist in a fluctuating form. We used numerically exact determinant quantum Monte Carlo calculations to demonstrate dynamical stripe correlations in the three-band Hubbard model, which represents the local electronic structure of the copper-oxygen plane. Our results, which are robust to varying parameters, cluster size, and boundary conditions, support the interpretation of experimental observations such as the hourglass magnetic dispersion and the Yamada plot of incommensurability versus doping in terms of the physics of fluctuating stripes. These findings provide a different perspective on the intertwined orders emerging from the cuprates’ normal state.

Effect of chromium doping on the correlated electronic structure of V2O3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grieger, Daniel; Lechermann, Frank

2014-09-01

The archetypical strongly correlated Mott-phenomena compound V2O3 is known to show a paramagnetic metal-insulator transition driven by doping with chromium atoms and/or (negative) pressure. Via charge self-consistent density-functional theory+dynamical mean-field theory calculations we demonstrate that these two routes cannot be understood as equivalent. An explicit description of Cr-doped V2O3 by means of supercell calculations and the virtual crystal approximation is performed. Introducing chromium's additional electron to the system is shown to modify the overall many-body electronic structure substantially. Chromium doping increases electronic correlations which in addition induce charge transfers between Cr and the remaining V ions. Thereby the transition-metal orbital polarization is increased by the electron doping, in close agreement with experimental findings.

Optimal free descriptions of many-body theories

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Turner, Christopher J.; Meichanetzidis, Konstantinos; Papić, Zlatko; Pachos, Jiannis K.

2017-04-01

Interacting bosons or fermions give rise to some of the most fascinating phases of matter, including high-temperature superconductivity, the fractional quantum Hall effect, quantum spin liquids and Mott insulators. Although these systems are promising for technological applications, they also present conceptual challenges, as they require approaches beyond mean-field and perturbation theory. Here we develop a general framework for identifying the free theory that is closest to a given interacting model in terms of their ground-state correlations. Moreover, we quantify the distance between them using the entanglement spectrum. When this interaction distance is small, the optimal free theory provides an effective description of the low-energy physics of the interacting model. Our construction of the optimal free model is non-perturbative in nature; thus, it offers a theoretical framework for investigating strongly correlated systems.

Suppression of surface charge accumulation on Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}-filled epoxy resin insulator under dc voltage by direct fluorination

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhang, Boya; Zhang, Guixin, E-mail: guixin@mail.tsinghua.edu.cn; Li, Chuanyang

2015-12-15

Surface charge accumulation on insulators under high dc voltage is a major factor that may lead to the reduction of insulation levels in gas insulated devices. In this paper, disc insulators made of Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}-filled epoxy resin were surface fluorinated using a F{sub 2}/N{sub 2} mixture (12.5% F{sub 2}) at 50 °C and 0.1 MPa for different durations of 15 min, 30 min and 60 min. A dc voltage was applied to the insulator for 30 min and the charge density on its surface was measured by an electrostatic probe. The results revealed significant lower surface charge densities on themore » fluorinated insulators in comparison with the original one. Surface conductivity measurements indicated a higher surface conductivity by over three orders of magnitude after fluorination, which would allow the charges to transfer along the surface and thus may suppress their accumulation. Further, attenuated total reflection infrared analysis and surface morphology observations of the samples revealed that the introduction of fluoride groups altered the surface physicochemical properties. These structure changes, especially the physical defects reduced the depth of charge traps in the surface layer, which was verified by the measurement of energy distributions of the electron and hole traps based on the isothermal current theory. The results in this paper demonstrate that fluorination can be a promising and effective method to suppress surface charge accumulation on epoxy insulators in gas insulated devices.« less

Use of Several Thermal Analysis Techniques to Study the Cracking of an Nitrile Butadiene Rubber (NBR) Insulator on the Booster Separation Motor (BSM) of the Space Shuttle

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wingard, Charles D.; Whitaker, Ann F. (Technical Monitor)

2000-01-01

Two different vendor rubber formulations have been used to produce the silica-filled NBR insulators for the BSM used on both of the Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs) of the Space Shuttle. A number of lots of the BSM insulator in 1998-99 exhibited surface cracks and/or crazing. Each insulator is bonded to the BSM aluminum aft closure with an epoxy adhesive. Induced insulator stresses from adhesive cure are likely greatest where the insulator/adhesive contour is the greatest, thus showing increased insulator surface cracking in this area. Thermal analysis testing by Dynamic Mechanical Analyzer (DMA) and Thermomechanical Analysis (TMA) was performed on one each of the two vendor BSM insulators previously bonded that exhibited the surface cracking. The TMA data from the film/fiber technique yielded the most meaningful results, with thin insulator surface samples containing cracks having roughly the same modulus (stiffness) as thin insulator bulk samples just underneath.

A divalent rare earth oxide semiconductor: Yttrium monoxide

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaminaga, Kenichi; Sei, Ryosuke; Hayashi, Kouichi; Happo, Naohisa; Tajiri, Hiroo; Oka, Daichi; Fukumura, Tomoteru; Hasegawa, Tetsuya

Rare earth sesquioxides like Y2O3 are known as widegap insulators with the highly stable closed shell trivalent rare earth ions. On the other hand, rare earth monoxides such as YO have been recognized as gaseous phase, and only EuO and YbO were thermodynamically stable solid-phase rock salt monoxides. In this study, solid-phase rock salt yttrium monoxide, YO, was synthesized in a form of epitaxial thin film by pulsed laser deposition method. YO possesses unusual valence of Y2+ ([Kr] 4d1) . In contrast with Y2O3, YO was narrow gap semiconductor with dark-brown color. The electrical conductivity was tunable from 10-1 to 103 Ω-1 cm-1 by introducing oxygen vacancies as electron donor. Weak antilocalization behavior was observed indicating significant spin-orbit coupling owing to 4 d electron carrier. The absorption spectral shape implies the Mott-Hubbard insulator character of YO. Rare earth monoixdes will be new platform of functional oxides. This work was supported by JST-CREST, the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) with Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Innovative Areas (Nos. 26105002 and 26105006), and Nanotechnology Platform (Project No.12024046) of MEXT, Japan.

Two-dimensional superconductivity induced by high-mobility carrier doping in LaTiO3/SrTiO3 hetero-structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Biscaras, Johan; Hurand, S.; Palma, C.; Lesueur, J.; Bergeal, N.; Leboeuf, D.; Proust, C.; Rastogi, A.; Budhani, R. C.

2013-03-01

Transition metal oxides display a great variety of quantum electronic behaviors where correlations often play an important role. The achievement of high quality epitaxial interfaces involving such materials gives a unique opportunity to engineer artificial materials where new electronic orders take place. It has been shown recently that a two-dimensional electron gas 2DEG could form at the interface of two insulators such as LaAlO3 and SrTiO3, or LaTiO3 (a Mott insulator) and SrTiO3. We show that a superconducting two-dimensional electron gas is formed at the LaTiO3/SrTiO3 interface whose properties can be modulated by field effect using a metallic gate on the back of the substrate. The gas consists of two types of carriers : a majority of low-mobility carriers always present, and a few high-mobility ones that can be injected by electrostatic doping. The calculation of the electrons spatial distribution in the confinement potential shows that the high-mobility electrons responsible for superconductivity set at the edge of the gas whose extension can be tuned by field effect.

Topological insulator thin films starting from the amorphous phase-Bi{sub 2}Se{sub 3} as example

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Barzola-Quiquia, J., E-mail: j.barzola@physik.uni-leipzig.de; Lehmann, T.; Stiller, M.

We present a new method to obtain topological insulator Bi{sub 2}Se{sub 3} thin films with a centimeter large lateral length. To produce amorphous Bi{sub 2}Se{sub 3} thin films, we have used a sequential flash-evaporation method at room temperature. Transmission electron microscopy has been used to verify that the prepared samples are in a pure amorphous state. During annealing, the samples transform into the rhombohedral Bi{sub 2}Se{sub 3} crystalline structure which was confirmed using X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy. Resistance measurements of the amorphous films show the expected Mott variable range hopping conduction process with a high specific resistance compared tomore » the one obtained in the crystalline phase (metallic behavior). We have measured the magnetoresistance and the Hall effect at different temperatures between 2 K and 275 K. At temperatures T ≲ 50 K and fields B ≲ 1 T, we observe weak anti-localization in the MR; the Hall measurements confirm the n-type character of the samples. All experimental results of our films are in quantitative agreement with results from samples prepared using more sophisticated methods.« less

Quantum Oscillations at LaTiO3/SrTiO3 Interfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Veit, Michael; Suzuki, Yuri

Emergent metallic behavior at the interface of the Mott insulator LaTiO3 and the band insulator SrTiO3 was observed for the first time more than a decade ago. Since then the metallicity has been explained in terms of charge redistribution at the interface combined with lattice relaxation. However to date, Shubnikov de Haas oscillations have not been reported in this two dimensional metallic system. For ultrathin (3-4 unit cells) LaTiO3 thin films on SrTiO3, we report the observation of Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations whose frequency corresponds to a small Fermi pocket. Surprisingly the oscillation are only observed between 1 and 4 T. Above this range, the quantum limit is reached for this pocket so no more oscillations are observed. A Berry's phase of π is also detected in these oscillations. Additionally a strong in-plane anisotropic magnetoresistance was measured in the heterostructures which, along with the Berry's phase, is attributed to a giant Rashba coupling at the interface. This work is funded by a National Security Science Engineering Faculty Fellowship of the Department of Defense under N00014-15-1-0045.

Quantum Field Theory Approach to Condensed Matter Physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marino, Eduardo C.

2017-09-01

Preface; Part I. Condensed Matter Physics: 1. Independent electrons and static crystals; 2. Vibrating crystals; 3. Interacting electrons; 4. Interactions in action; Part II. Quantum Field Theory: 5. Functional formulation of quantum field theory; 6. Quantum fields in action; 7. Symmetries: explicit or secret; 8. Classical topological excitations; 9. Quantum topological excitations; 10. Duality, bosonization and generalized statistics; 11. Statistical transmutation; 12. Pseudo quantum electrodynamics; Part III. Quantum Field Theory Approach to Condensed Matter Systems: 13. Quantum field theory methods in condensed matter; 14. Metals, Fermi liquids, Mott and Anderson insulators; 15. The dynamics of polarons; 16. Polyacetylene; 17. The Kondo effect; 18. Quantum magnets in 1D: Fermionization, bosonization, Coulomb gases and 'all that'; 19. Quantum magnets in 2D: nonlinear sigma model, CP1 and 'all that'; 20. The spin-fermion system: a quantum field theory approach; 21. The spin glass; 22. Quantum field theory approach to superfluidity; 23. Quantum field theory approach to superconductivity; 24. The cuprate high-temperature superconductors; 25. The pnictides: iron based superconductors; 26. The quantum Hall effect; 27. Graphene; 28. Silicene and transition metal dichalcogenides; 29. Topological insulators; 30. Non-abelian statistics and quantum computation; References; Index.

Controlling the metal-to-insulator relaxation of the metastable hidden quantum state in 1T-TaS2

PubMed Central

Vaskivskyi, Igor; Gospodaric, Jan; Brazovskii, Serguei; Svetin, Damjan; Sutar, Petra; Goreshnik, Evgeny; Mihailovic, Ian A.; Mertelj, Tomaz; Mihailovic, Dragan

2015-01-01

Controllable switching between metastable macroscopic quantum states under nonequilibrium conditions induced either by light or with an external electric field is rapidly becoming of great fundamental interest. We investigate the relaxation properties of a “hidden” (H) charge density wave (CDW) state in thin single crystals of the layered dichalcogenide 1T-TaS2, which can be reached by either a single 35-fs optical laser pulse or an ~30-ps electrical pulse. From measurements of the temperature dependence of the resistivity under different excitation conditions, we find that the metallic H state relaxes to the insulating Mott ground state through a sequence of intermediate metastable states via discrete jumps over a “Devil’s staircase.” In between the discrete steps, an underlying glassy relaxation process is observed, which arises because of reciprocal-space commensurability frustration between the CDW and the underlying lattice. We show that the metastable state relaxation rate may be externally stabilized by substrate strain, thus opening the way to the design of nonvolatile ultrafast high-temperature memory devices based on switching between CDW states with large intrinsic differences in electrical resistance. PMID:26601218

Dimensionality-strain phase diagram of strontium iridates superlattices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Bongjae; Liu, Peitao; Franchini, Cesare

Using ab initio approach, we study the electronic and magnetic behavior of strontium iridates as a function of dimensionality and epitaxial strain by employing a (SrIrO3)m/(SrTiO3) superlattice structure. We quantitatively evaluate the dimensional and strain-dependent change of the interaction parameters U and J using the constraint random phase approximation and construct a comprehensive phase diagram describing the evolution of the electronic and magnetic ground state upon strain and dimensionality. We find that compressive strain and increasing the dimensionality perturb the insulating relativistic Mott Jeff = 1 / 2 state, a characteristic of the m = 1 system, and induce two distinct types of insulator-to-metal transition (IMT) that can be explained from the entanglement of U and the bandwidth of the Ir-t2 g manifold. The IMTs are associated with distinctive changes of the spin ordering manifested by spin-flop transitions, correlated with the modulation of the interlayer exchange interaction, and with a complete quenching of any spin-ordered state in the m -> ∞ limit. The fundamental origin of these electronic and magnetic transitions will be discussed and compared with the corresponding situation in the Ruddlesden-Popper series.

Controlling the metal-to-insulator relaxation of the metastable hidden quantum state in 1T-TaS2.

PubMed

Vaskivskyi, Igor; Gospodaric, Jan; Brazovskii, Serguei; Svetin, Damjan; Sutar, Petra; Goreshnik, Evgeny; Mihailovic, Ian A; Mertelj, Tomaz; Mihailovic, Dragan

2015-07-01

Controllable switching between metastable macroscopic quantum states under nonequilibrium conditions induced either by light or with an external electric field is rapidly becoming of great fundamental interest. We investigate the relaxation properties of a "hidden" (H) charge density wave (CDW) state in thin single crystals of the layered dichalcogenide 1T-TaS2, which can be reached by either a single 35-fs optical laser pulse or an ~30-ps electrical pulse. From measurements of the temperature dependence of the resistivity under different excitation conditions, we find that the metallic H state relaxes to the insulating Mott ground state through a sequence of intermediate metastable states via discrete jumps over a "Devil's staircase." In between the discrete steps, an underlying glassy relaxation process is observed, which arises because of reciprocal-space commensurability frustration between the CDW and the underlying lattice. We show that the metastable state relaxation rate may be externally stabilized by substrate strain, thus opening the way to the design of nonvolatile ultrafast high-temperature memory devices based on switching between CDW states with large intrinsic differences in electrical resistance.

Blowpipe Mineralogy for Physics/Environment: Highest-Possible-Tc SC Quest; BOTH PERMANENT FOREVER Carb-IDES SOLID-State Sequestration AND Drought(s)-Elimination

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Segler, Kurt; Williams, W.; Siegel, E.

2010-03-01

Detailed are old blowpipe[Kraus,Hunt,Ramsdell, Mineralogy (1936)] new applications:charcoal-block reduction of borates to yield (``N-NW'' of MgB2) Overhauser-[PR 35,1,411(1987); Intl.J.Mod.Phys.1,2 & 4,927(1987)]-``land'' predicted high-EST- POSSIBLE Tc SC ˜ ``LiD2''; very-early: Siegel[Phys.Stat.Sol.(a) 11,45(1972);Semiconductors & Insulators 5: 39,47,62(1979)] carb- IDES SOLID-state phase-TRANSITIONED CHEMICALLY-REDOX"-REACTED STABLE PERMANENT LONG-term STRATEGY, NOT ``CO2" BUT NON-gas Carbon-``ELEMENT"-sequestration: PROFITABLE MARKETABLE SALEABLE VALUABLE USEFUL ``Grab and Sell" TRUMPS ``cap and trade"!!!; Mott alloying/vertical metal-insulator transitions in ``borax-(GLASS)- beads"; and very-early Siegel [3rd Intl.Conf.Alt.Energy,Hemi- sphere/Springer(1980)-vol.5/p.459] ``FLYING-WATER" ``Hindenberg- effect"(H2-UP;H2O-DOWN) via H2-maximal-Archimedes-buoyancy ``chemical-rain-in-piplines", only via Siegel GMR enabled diffusive-magnetoresistance(DMR)enabled Siegel proprietary ``magnetic-H-valve": Renewables-H2-H2O purposely flexible versatile agile scaleable retrofitable integrated operating- system for PERMANENT drought(s)-elimination FOREVER!!!

Insulated laser tube structure and method of making same

DOEpatents

Dittbenner, Gerald R.

1999-01-01

An insulated high temperature ceramic laser tube having substantially uniform insulation along the length of the tube is disclosed having particulate ceramic insulation positioned between the outer wall of the ceramic laser tube and the inner surface of tubular ceramic fiber insulation which surrounds the ceramic laser tube. The particulate ceramic insulation is preferably a ceramic capable of sintering to the outer surface of the ceramic laser tube and to the inner surface of the tubular ceramic fiber insulation. The addition of the particulate ceramic insulation to fill all the voids between the ceramic laser tube and the fibrous ceramic insulation permits the laser tube to be operated at a substantially uniform temperature throughout the length of the laser tube.

Insulator coating for high temperature alloys method for producing insulator coating for high temperature alloys

DOEpatents

Park, J.H.

1998-06-23

A method for fabricating an electrically insulating coating on a surface is disclosed comprising coating the surface with a metal, and reacting the metal coated surface with a nonmetal so as to create a film on the metal-coated surface. Alternatively, the invention provides for a method for producing a noncorrosive, electrically insulating coating on a surface saturated with a nonmetal comprising supplying a molten fluid, dissolving a metal in the molten fluid to create a mixture, and contacting the mixture with the saturated surface. Lastly, the invention provides an electrically insulative coating comprising an underlying structural substrate coated with an oxide or nitride compound. 2 figs.

Localization of electrons and excitations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Larsson, Sven

2006-07-01

Electrons, electron holes, or excitations in finite or infinite 'multimer systems' may be localized or delocalized. In the theory of Hush, localization depends on the ratio Δ/ λ ( Δ/2 = coupling; λ = reorganization energy). The latter theory has been extended to the infinite system [S. Larsson, A. Klimkāns, Mol. Cryst. Liq. Cryst. 355 (2000) 217]. The metal/insulator transition often takes place abruptly as a function of Δ/ λ. It is argued that localization in a system with un-filled bands cannot be determined on the basis of Mott-Hubbard U alone, but depends on the number of accessible valence states, reorganization energy λ and coupling Δ (=2t). In fact U = 0 does not necessarily imply delocalization. The analysis here shows that there are many different situations for an insulator to metal transition. Charge transfer in doped NiO is characterized by Ni 2+ - Ni 3+ exchange while charge transfer in pure NiO is characterized by a disproportionation 2Ni 2+ → Ni + + Ni 3+. In spite of the great differences between these two cases, U has been applied without discrimination to both. The relevant localization parameters appear to be Δ and λ in the first case, with only two oxidation states, and U, Δ and λ in the second case with three oxidation states. The analysis is extended to insulator-metal transitions, giant magnetic resistance (GMR) and high Tc superconductivity (SC). λ and Δ can be determined quite accurately in quantum mechanical calculations involving only one and two monomers, respectively.

Theory of metal-insulator transition in the family of perovskite iridium oxides

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carter, Jean-Michel; Shankar V., Vijay; Kee, Hae-Young

2013-07-01

Perovskite iridium oxides Srn+1IrnO3n+1 exhibit fascinating phenomena due to the combined effects of spin-orbit coupling (SOC) and electronic interactions. It was suggested that electronic correlation amplified via the strong SOC leads to a spin-orbit Mott insulator for n=1 and 2, while three-dimensional (3D) SrIrO3 remains metallic because of the large bandwidth from the 3D structure. However, this bandwidth-controlled metal-insulator transition (MIT) is only valid when SOC is large enough to split Jeff=1/2 and 3/2 bands, while the mixing of 1/2 and 3/2 bands is conspicuous among the occupied bands. Here, we investigate the MIT as a function of n using weak-coupling theory. In this approach, the magnetic instability is determined by the states near the Fermi level rather than the entire band structure. Starting from t2g tight-binding models for n=1, 2, and ∞, the states near the Fermi level are found to be predominantly Jeff=1/2 allowing an effective single-band model. Supplementing this effective Jeff=1/2 model with Hubbard-type interactions, transitions from a metal to magnetically ordered states are obtained. Strong-coupling spin models are derived to compare the magnetic ordering patterns obtained in the weak- and strong-coupling limits. We find that they are identical, indicating that these iridates are likely in an intermediate-coupling regime.

An experimental investigation of electric flashover across solid insulators in vacuum

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vonbaeyer, H. C.

1984-01-01

The insulation of high voltage conductors often employs solid insulators for many applications. In such applications, an unexpected electric flashover may occur along the insulator surface. Under conditions of high vacuum, the flashover voltage across the insulator is observed to be lower compared with that of the same electrode separation without an insulator. The reason for such an extreme reduction of flashover voltage is not well understood. Several models based on the secondary electron emission, were proposed to explain the onset of the surface flashover. The starting point and the developing velocity of the surface flashover were determined. An intensified image converter camera was used to observe the initial stage of electrical flashover along the insulator surface parallel to the electric field. Several different insulator materials were used as test pieces to determine the effect of the dielectric constant on the flashover voltage characteristics.

Ionization equilibrium at the transition from valence-band to acceptor-band migration of holes in boron-doped diamond

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Poklonski, N. A.; Vyrko, S. A.; Poklonskaya, O. N.; Kovalev, A. I.; Zabrodskii, A. G.

2016-06-01

A quasi-classical model of ionization equilibrium in the p-type diamond between hydrogen-like acceptors (boron atoms which substitute carbon atoms in the crystal lattice) and holes in the valence band (v-band) is proposed. The model is applicable on the insulator side of the insulator-metal concentration phase transition (Mott transition) in p-Dia:B crystals. The densities of the spatial distributions of impurity atoms (acceptors and donors) and of holes in the crystal are considered to be Poissonian, and the fluctuations of their electrostatic potential energy are considered to be Gaussian. The model accounts for the decrease in thermal ionization energy of boron atoms with increasing concentration, as well as for electrostatic fluctuations due to the Coulomb interaction limited to two nearest point charges (impurity ions and holes). The mobility edge of holes in the v-band is assumed to be equal to the sum of the threshold energy for diffusion percolation and the exchange energy of the holes. On the basis of the virial theorem, the temperature Tj is determined, in the vicinity of which the dc band-like conductivity of holes in the v-band is approximately equal to the hopping conductivity of holes via the boron atoms. For compensation ratio (hydrogen-like donor to acceptor concentration ratio) K ≈ 0.15 and temperature Tj, the concentration of "free" holes in the v-band and their jumping (turbulent) drift mobility are calculated. Dependence of the differential energy of thermal ionization of boron atoms (at the temperature 3Tj/2) as a function of their concentration N is calculated. The estimates of the extrapolated into the temperature region close to Tj hopping drift mobility of holes hopping from the boron atoms in the charge states (0) to the boron atoms in the charge states (-1) are given. Calculations based on the model show good agreement with electrical conductivity and Hall effect measurements for p-type diamond with boron atom concentrations in the range from 3 × 1017 to 3 × 1020 cm-3, i.e., up to the Mott transition. The model uses no fitting parameters.

Polymorphism control of superconductivity and magnetism in Cs(3)C(60) close to the Mott transition.

PubMed

Ganin, Alexey Y; Takabayashi, Yasuhiro; Jeglic, Peter; Arcon, Denis; Potocnik, Anton; Baker, Peter J; Ohishi, Yasuo; McDonald, Martin T; Tzirakis, Manolis D; McLennan, Alec; Darling, George R; Takata, Masaki; Rosseinsky, Matthew J; Prassides, Kosmas

2010-07-08

The crystal structure of a solid controls the interactions between the electronically active units and thus its electronic properties. In the high-temperature superconducting copper oxides, only one spatial arrangement of the electronically active Cu(2+) units-a two-dimensional square lattice-is available to study the competition between the cooperative electronic states of magnetic order and superconductivity. Crystals of the spherical molecular C(60)(3-) anion support both superconductivity and magnetism but can consist of fundamentally distinct three-dimensional arrangements of the anions. Superconductivity in the A(3)C(60) (A = alkali metal) fullerides has been exclusively associated with face-centred cubic (f.c.c.) packing of C(60)(3-) (refs 2, 3), but recently the most expanded (and thus having the highest superconducting transition temperature, T(c); ref. 4) composition Cs(3)C(60) has been isolated as a body-centred cubic (b.c.c.) packing, which supports both superconductivity and magnetic order. Here we isolate the f.c.c. polymorph of Cs(3)C(60) to show how the spatial arrangement of the electronically active units controls the competing superconducting and magnetic electronic ground states. Unlike all the other f.c.c. A(3)C(60) fullerides, f.c.c. Cs(3)C(60) is not a superconductor but a magnetic insulator at ambient pressure, and becomes superconducting under pressure. The magnetic ordering occurs at an order of magnitude lower temperature in the geometrically frustrated f.c.c. polymorph (Néel temperature T(N) = 2.2 K) than in the b.c.c.-based packing (T(N) = 46 K). The different lattice packings of C(60)(3-) change T(c) from 38 K in b.c.c. Cs(3)C(60) to 35 K in f.c.c. Cs(3)C(60) (the highest found in the f.c.c. A(3)C(60) family). The existence of two superconducting packings of the same electronically active unit reveals that T(c) scales universally in a structure-independent dome-like relationship with proximity to the Mott metal-insulator transition, which is governed by the role of electron correlations characteristic of high-temperature superconducting materials other than fullerides.

Wettability of naturally aged silicone and EPDM composite insulators

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gubanski, S.M.; Vlastos, A.E.

1990-07-01

This paper reports the wettability of aged surfaces and of the bulk of naturally aged silicone and EPDM insulator housings and of silicone elastomer insulator coatings studied. The samples were taken either directly from the insulators or treated by exposing them to corona discharges and/or to saline pollution. The results show that the contact angles of the silicone rubber insulator surfaces are larger than the contact angles of the RTV silicone rubber coating and of the EPDM rubber insulator surfaces, especially when the surfaces are aged. When the insulators were exposed to corona discharges, the contact angles of the siliconemore » rubber insulators are reduced but after the exposure they recover with time. The contact angles of the EPDM rubber insulators, however, after the exposure, continue to reduce. When exposed to artificial saline pollution, the silicone rubber insulators show a limited recovery of their contact angles with time, while, when exposed to corona discharge, they show a recovery of the contact angle after the exposure. The time for recovery is dependent on the exposure time to the corona discharges.« less

Vacuum Surface Flashover Characteristics and Secondary Electron Emission Characteristics of Epoxy Resin and FRP Insulator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yamano, Yasushi; Takahashi, Masahiro; Kobayashi, Shinichi; Hanada, Masaya; Ikeda, Yoshitaka

Neutral beam injectors (NBI) used for JT-60 are required to generate negative ions of 500 keV energies. To produce such high-energy ions, the electrostatic accelerators consisting of 3-stage of electrodes and three insulator rings are applied. The insulators are made of Fiberglass Reinforced Plastic (FRP) which is composed of epoxy resin and glass fibers. The surface discharges along the insulators are one of the most serious problems in the development of NBI. To increase the hold-off voltage against surface flashover events, it is necessary to investigate the FRP and epoxy resin insulator properties related to surface discharges in vacuum. This paper describes surface flashover characteristics for epoxy resin, FRP and Alumina samples under vacuum condition. In addition, the measurements of secondary electron emission (SEE) characteristics are also reported. These are important parameters to analyze surface discharge characteristics of insulators in vacuum.

Momentum Dependence of Charge Excitations in YBa2Cu3O7-δ and Nd2-xCexCuO4

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ishii, Kenji

2006-03-01

Resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS) studies at Cu K-edge on high-Tc superconducting cuprates, YBa2Cu3O7-δ and Nd2-xCexCuO4 are presented. The superconductivity occurs in the vicinity of the Mott insulating state and it is important to clarify the nature of the Mott gap and its doping dependence. Because RIXS has an advantage that we can measure charge excitation in a wide energy-momentum space, it gives a unique opportunity to study the electronic structure of materials. We apply this technique to high-Tc superconducting cuprates. In particular the electronic structure of strongly correlated metals is in the focus of our RIXS study. The experiments were performed at BL11XU of SPring-8, Japan, where a specially designed spectrometer for inelastic x-ray scattering is installed. In optimally doped YBa2Cu3O7-δ, anisotropic spectra are observed in the ab plane of a twin-free crystal. The Mott gap excitation from the one-dimensional CuO chain is enhanced at 2 eV near the zone boundary of the chain direction, while the excitation from the CuO2 plane is broad at 1.5-4 eV and almost independent of momentum. Theoretical calculation based on the one-dimensional and two-dimensional Hubbard model reproduces the observed features in the RIXS spectra when smaller values of the on-site Coulomb energy of the chain than that of the plane are assumed. This means that the charge transfer gap of the chain is smaller than that of the plane. On the other hand, both interband excitation across the Mott gap and intraband excitation in the upper Hubbard band are observed in the electron-doped Nd2-xCexCuO4. The intensity of the interband excitation is concentrated at ˜ 2 eV near the zone boundary while a dispersion relation with a momentum-dependent width emerges in the intraband excitation. The author would like to acknowledge to his collaborators, K. Tsutsui, Y. Endoh, T. Tohyama, K. Kuzushita, T. Inami, K. Ohwada, M. Hoesch, M. Tsubota, Y. Murakami, J. Mizuki, S. Maekawa, T. Masui, S. Tajima, and K. Yamada. The crystal growth of YBa2Cu3O7-δ was supported by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) as the Collaborative Research and Development of Fundamental Technologies for Superconductivity Applications.

The Application of Surface Potential Test on Hand-making Insulation for Generator Stator End-winding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, Zhu-mao; Liu, Qing; Wang, Tian-zheng; Bai, Lu; Li, Yan-peng

2017-05-01

This paper presents the advantage of surface potential test on hand-making insulation for generator stator end-winding insulation detection, compared with DC or AC withstand voltage test, also details the test principle, connection method and test notes. And through the case, surface potential test on hand-making insulation proved effective for insulation quality detection after generator stator end-winding maintenance, and the experimental data is useful and reliable for the electrical equipment operation and maintenance in the power plant.

Sharp improvement of flashover strength from composite micro-textured surfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huo, Yankun; Liu, Wenyuan; Ke, Changfeng; Chang, Chao; Chen, Changhua

2017-09-01

A composite micro-textured surface structure is proposed and demonstrated to enhance the surface flashover strength of polymer insulators used in vacuum. The structure is fabricated in two stages, with periodic triangular grooves of approximately 210 μm in width formed in the first stage and micro-holes of approximately 2 μm coated on the inner surface of grooves in the second. The aim is to exploit the synergistic effects between the grooves and micro-holes to suppress the secondary electron yield to obtain a better flashover performance. To acquire insulators with the composite micro-textured surface, the CO2 laser processing technique is applied to treat the surface of the PMMA insulators. The test results show that the flashover voltages of the insulators with the two-stage fabricated structure increase by 150% compared with the untreated samples in the best state. Compared with the traditional macro-groove structures on insulators, the proposed composite micro-textured insulators exhibit a better surface flashover performance.

High-Rate Assembly of Nanomaterials on Insulating Surfaces Using Electro-Fluidic Directed Assembly.

PubMed

Yilmaz, Cihan; Sirman, Asli; Halder, Aditi; Busnaina, Ahmed

2017-08-22

Conductive or semiconducting nanomaterials-based applications such as electronics and sensors often require direct placement of such nanomaterials on insulating surfaces. Most fluidic-based directed assembly techniques on insulating surfaces utilize capillary force and evaporation but are diffusion limited and slow. Electrophoretic-based assembly, on the other hand, is fast but can only be utilized for assembly on a conductive surface. Here, we present a directed assembly technique that enables rapid assembly of nanomaterials on insulating surfaces. The approach leverages and combines fluidic and electrophoretic assembly by applying the electric field through an insulating surface via a conductive film underneath. The approach (called electro-fluidic) yields an assembly process that is 2 orders of magnitude faster compared to fluidic assembly. By understanding the forces on the assembly process, we have demonstrated the controlled assembly of various types of nanomaterials that are conducting, semiconducting, and insulating including nanoparticles and single-walled carbon nanotubes on insulating rigid and flexible substrates. The presented approach shows great promise for making practical devices in miniaturized sensors and flexible electronics.

Surface quantum oscillations and weak antilocalization effect in topological insulator (Bi0.3Sb0.7)2Te3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Urkude, Rajashri; Rawat, Rajeev; Palikundwar, Umesh

2018-04-01

In 3D topological insulators, achieving a genuine bulk-insulating state is an important topic of research. The material system (Bi,Sb)2(Te,Se)3 has been proposed as a topological insulator with high resistivity and low carrier concentration. Topological insulators are predicted to present interesting surface transport phenomena but their experimental studies have been hindered by metallic bulk conduction that overwhelms the surface transport. Here we present a study of the bulk-insulating properties of (Bi0.3Sb0.7)2Te3. We show that a high resistivity exceeding 1 Ωm as a result of variable-range hopping behavior of state and Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations as coming from the topological surface state. We have been able to clarify both the bulk and surface transport channels, establishing a comprehensive understanding of the transport properties in this material. Our results demonstrate that (Bi0.3Sb0.7)2Te3 is a good material for studying the surface quantum transport in a topological insulator.

Current-induced switching of magnetic molecules on topological insulator surfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Locane, Elina; Brouwer, Piet W.

2017-03-01

Electrical currents at the surface or edge of a topological insulator are intrinsically spin polarized. We show that such surface or edge currents can be used to switch the orientation of a molecular magnet weakly coupled to the surface or edge of a topological insulator. For the edge of a two-dimensional topological insulator as well as for the surface of a three-dimensional topological insulator the application of a well-chosen surface or edge current can lead to a complete polarization of the molecule if the molecule's magnetic anisotropy axis is appropriately aligned with the current direction. For a generic orientation of the molecule a nonzero but incomplete polarization is obtained. We calculate the probability distribution of the magnetic states and the switching rates as a function of the applied current.

Surface structural changes of naturally aged silicone and EPDM composite insulators

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Vlastos, A.E.; Gubanski, S.M.

1991-04-01

In a long-term outdoor test with high direct and alternating voltages, silicone and EPDM rubber composite insulators have, at the beginning, shown a superior performance to that of glass and porcelain insulators. In the long-term test, however, the silicone rubber composite insulator has, in spite of the ageing of both insulator types, kept its good performance, while the performance of the EPDM rubber composite insulator was drastically deteriorated. In order to get a better insight into results obtained, the wettability and the surface structural changes of the insulators were studied by the drop deposition method (using a goniometer) and bymore » advanced techniques such as SEM, ESCA, FTIR and SIMS respectively. The results show that the differences in performance have to be found in the differences in the surface structural changes and in the dynamic ability of the surface to compensate the ageing.« less

Numerical evidence of fluctuating stripes in the normal state of high- T c cuprate superconductors

DOE PAGES

Huang, Edwin W.; Mendl, Christian B.; Liu, Shenxiu; ...

2017-12-01

Upon doping, Mott insulators often exhibit symmetry breaking where charge carriers and their spins organize into patterns known as stripes. For high–transition temperature cuprate superconductors, stripes are widely suspected to exist in a fluctuating form. We used numerically exact determinant quantum Monte Carlo calculations to demonstrate dynamical stripe correlations in the three-band Hubbard model, which represents the local electronic structure of the copper-oxygen plane. Our results, which are robust to varying parameters, cluster size, and boundary conditions, support the interpretation of experimental observations such as the hourglass magnetic dispersion and the Yamada plot of incommensurability versus doping in terms ofmore » the physics of fluctuating stripes. Furthermore, these findings provide a different perspective on the intertwined orders emerging from the cuprates’ normal state.« less

Emergent functions of quantum materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tokura, Yoshinori; Kawasaki, Masashi; Nagaosa, Naoto

2017-11-01

Materials can harbour quantum many-body systems, most typically in the form of strongly correlated electrons in solids, that lead to novel and remarkable functions thanks to emergence--collective behaviours that arise from strong interactions among the elements. These include the Mott transition, high-temperature superconductivity, topological superconductivity, colossal magnetoresistance, giant magnetoelectric effect, and topological insulators. These phenomena will probably be crucial for developing the next-generation quantum technologies that will meet the urgent technological demands for achieving a sustainable and safe society. Dissipationless electronics using topological currents and quantum spins, energy harvesting such as photovoltaics and thermoelectrics, and secure quantum computing and communication are the three major fields of applications working towards this goal. Here, we review the basic principles and the current status of the emergent phenomena and functions in materials from the viewpoint of strong correlation and topology.

Localization of holes near charged defects in orbitally degenerate, doped Mott insulators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Avella, Adolfo; Oleś, Andrzej M.; Horsch, Peter

2018-05-01

We study the role of charged defects, disorder and electron-electron (e-e) interactions in a multiband model for t2g electrons in vanadium perovskites R1-xCaxVO3 (R = La,…,Y). By means of unrestricted Hartree-Fock calculations, we find that the atomic multiplet structure persists up to 50% Ca doping. Using the inverse participation number, we explore the degree of localization and its doping dependence for all electronic states. The observation of strongly localized wave functions is consistent with our conjecture that doped holes form spin-orbital polarons that are strongly bound to the charged Ca2+ defects. Interestingly, the long-range e-e interactions lead to a discontinuity in the wave function size across the chemical potential, where the electron removal states are more localized than the addition states.

Raman Scattering from Higgs Mode Oscillations in the Two-Dimensional Antiferromagnet Ca_{2}RuO_{4}.

PubMed

Souliou, Sofia-Michaela; Chaloupka, Jiří; Khaliullin, Giniyat; Ryu, Gihun; Jain, Anil; Kim, B J; Le Tacon, Matthieu; Keimer, Bernhard

2017-08-11

We present and analyze Raman spectra of the Mott insulator Ca_{2}RuO_{4}, whose quasi-two-dimensional antiferromagnetic order has been described as a condensate of low-lying spin-orbit excitons with angular momentum J_{eff}=1. In the A_{g} polarization geometry, the amplitude (Higgs) mode of the spin-orbit condensate is directly probed in the scalar channel, thus avoiding infrared-singular magnon contributions. In the B_{1g} geometry, we observe a single-magnon peak as well as two-magnon and two-Higgs excitations. Model calculations using exact diagonalization quantitatively agree with the observations. Together with recent neutron scattering data, our study provides strong evidence for excitonic magnetism in Ca_{2}RuO_{4} and points out new perspectives for research on the Higgs mode in two dimensions.

The robustness of high-Tc superconductivity in underdoped YBa2Cu3O6+x investigated in under strong magnetic fields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harrison, Neil; Hsu, Y.-T.; Hartstein, M.; Chan, M.; Porras, J.; Loew, T.; Le Tacon, M.; Lonzarich, G.; Keimer, B.; Flux, V.; Sebastian, S.

A central unresolved mystery in high-Tc superconductivity is whether the pairing amplitude is small in the underdoped regime and relates to the superfluid density or whether it is large and relate to the intrinsic energy scales of the Mott insulating parent state. The magnetic field provides a sensitive probe of the pairing amplitude. However, experimental probes of the extent of the vortex state in temperature and magnetic field have thus far been indirect and hence subject to debate. Here we report measurements over a broad range of temperature and magnetic fields which we use to probe the extent of the vortex region in underdoped YBa2Cu3O6+x. and its interplay with quantum oscillations. N.H. acknowledges UU DOE BES Support for ''Science of 100 Tesla''.

Numerical evidence of fluctuating stripes in the normal state of high- T c cuprate superconductors

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Huang, Edwin W.; Mendl, Christian B.; Liu, Shenxiu

Upon doping, Mott insulators often exhibit symmetry breaking where charge carriers and their spins organize into patterns known as stripes. For high–transition temperature cuprate superconductors, stripes are widely suspected to exist in a fluctuating form. We used numerically exact determinant quantum Monte Carlo calculations to demonstrate dynamical stripe correlations in the three-band Hubbard model, which represents the local electronic structure of the copper-oxygen plane. Our results, which are robust to varying parameters, cluster size, and boundary conditions, support the interpretation of experimental observations such as the hourglass magnetic dispersion and the Yamada plot of incommensurability versus doping in terms ofmore » the physics of fluctuating stripes. Furthermore, these findings provide a different perspective on the intertwined orders emerging from the cuprates’ normal state.« less

Non-Fermi Liquid Behavior and Continuously Tunable Resistivity Exponents in the Anderson-Hubbard Model at Finite Temperature

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Patel, Niravkumar D.; Mukherjee, Anamitra; Kaushal, Nitin

Here, we employ a recently developed computational many-body technique to study for the first time the half-filled Anderson-Hubbard model at finite temperature and arbitrary correlation U and disorder V strengths. Interestingly, the narrow zero temperature metallic range induced by disorder from the Mott insulator expands with increasing temperature in a manner resembling a quantum critical point. Our study of the resistivity temperature scaling T α for this metal reveals non-Fermi liquid characteristics. Moreover, a continuous dependence of α on U and V from linear to nearly quadratic is observed. We argue that these exotic results arise from a systematic changemore » with U and V of the “effective” disorder, a combination of quenched disorder and intrinsic localized spins.« less

X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy Study of the Effect of Rh doping in Sr2IrO4

PubMed Central

Sohn, C. H.; Cho, Deok-Yong; Kuo, C.-T.; Sandilands, L. J.; Qi, T. F.; Cao, G.; Noh, T. W.

2016-01-01

We investigate the effect of Rh doping in Sr2IrO4 using X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS). We observed appearance of new electron-addition states with increasing Rh concentration (x in Sr2Ir1−xRhxO4) in accordance with the concept of hole doping. The intensity of the hole-induced state is however weak, suggesting weakness of charge transfer (CT) effect and Mott insulating ground states. Also, Ir Jeff = 1/2 upper Hubbard band shifts to lower energy as x increases up to x = 0.23. Combined with optical spectroscopy, these results suggest a hybridisation-related mechanism, in which Rh doping can weaken the (Ir Jeff = 1/2)–(O 2p) orbital hybridisation in the in-planar Rh-O-Ir bond networks. PMID:27025538