We study theoretically the quantum phase transition from a metal to a Wigner-Mott insulator at fractional commensurate filling on a two-leg ladder. We show that a continuous transition out of a symmetry-preserving Luttinger liquid metal is possible where the onset of insulating behavior is accompanied by the breaking of the lattice translation symmetry. At fillings $\ensuremath{\nu}=1/m$ per spin per unit cell, we find that the spin degrees of freedom also acquire a gap at the Wigner-Mott transition for odd integer $m$ . In contrast for even integer $m$ , the spin sector remains gapless and the resulting insulator is a ladder analog of the two-dimensional spinon surface state. In both cases, a charge neutral spinless mode remains gapless across the Wigner-Mott transition. We discuss physical properties of these transitions and comment on insights obtained for thinking about continuous Wigner-Mott transitions in two-dimensional systems which are being studied in moire materials.We study theoretically the quantum phase transition from a metal to a Wigner-Mott insulator at fractional commensurate filling on a two-leg ladder. We show that a continuous transition out of a symmetry-preserving Luttinger liquid metal is possible where the onset of insulating behavior is accompanied by the breaking of the lattice translation symmetry. At fillings $\ensuremath{\nu}=1/m$ per spin per unit cell, we find that the spin degrees of freedom also acquire a gap at the Wigner-Mott transition for odd integer $m$. In contrast for even integer $m$, the spin sector remains gapless and the resulting insulator is a ladder analog of the two-dimensional spinon surface state. In both cases, a charge neutral spinless mode remains gapless across the Wigner-Mott transition. We discuss physical properties of these transitions and comment on insights obtained for thinking about continuous Wigner-Mott transitions in two-dimensional systems which are being studied in moire materials.

arXiv:2207.07128Physical review. B./Physical review. BDec 22, 20226 citations

Mott Transitions

World Scientific lecture notes in physicsJan 1, 20010 citations

The Mott Transition

Gabriel Kotliar

Princeton University Press eBooksOct 6, 20200 citations

Defect mediated quantum melting of charge ordered insulators

Abijith Krishnan, Ajesh Kumar, T. Senthil

Two-dimensional (2d) electronic systems on a lattice at fractional filling $ν= p/q$ exhibit a competition between charge ordered insulators, called Wigner-Mott insulators (WMIs), at large Coulomb repulsion and Fermi-liquid metals at large electronic kinetic energy. When those two energy scales are roughly equal, insulating states that restore the lattice translation symmetry, which we call quantum charge liquids (QCLs), may emerge. When gapped, these QCLs must exhibit topological order. In this work, we show that the allowed topological ordered phases that are proximate to the WMI strongly depend on the charge ordering in the WMI. In particular, we show that when $q$ is even, no direct transition exists between a WMI with the smallest allowed unit cell size from filling constraints, i.e., the "minimal" WMI, and the topological order with the smallest ground state degeneracy on a torus allowed by filling constraints, i.e., the "minimal" TO. Furthermore, we describe the quantum melting transition of the WMIs to the proximate QCLs in terms of the proliferation of the topological defects of the WMIs. The field theory of this transition in terms of the topological defects reveals their role as precursors to the anyon excitations in the QCLs.Two-dimensional (2d) electronic systems on a lattice at fractional filling $ν= p/q$ exhibit a competition between charge ordered insulators, called Wigner-Mott insulators (WMIs), at large Coulomb repulsion and Fermi-liquid metals at large electronic kinetic energy. When those two energy scales are roughly equal, insulating states that restore the lattice translation symmetry, which we call quantum charge liquids (QCLs), may emerge. When gapped, these QCLs must exhibit topological order. In this work, we show that the allowed topological ordered phases that are proximate to the WMI strongly depend on the charge ordering in the WMI. In particular, we show that when $q$ is even, no direct transition exists between a WMI with the smallest allowed unit cell size from filling constraints, i.e., the "minimal" WMI, and the topological order with the smallest ground state degeneracy on a torus allowed by filling constraints, i.e., the "minimal" TO. Furthermore, we describe the quantum melting transition of the WMIs to the proximate QCLs in terms of the proliferation of the topological defects of the WMIs. The field theory of this transition in terms of the topological defects reveals their role as precursors to the anyon excitations in the QCLs.

arXiv:2510.00099Sep 30, 20250 citations

Continuous Wigner-Mott transition at $ν=1/5$ Continuous Wigner-Mott transition at $ν=1/5$

Thomas G. Kiely, Debanjan Chowdhury

Electrons can organize themselves into charge-ordered states to minimize the effects of long-ranged Coulomb interactions. In the presence of a lattice, commensurability constraints lead to the emergence of incompressible Wigner-Mott insulators at various rational electron fillings, $ν~=p/q$ . The mechanism for quantum fluctuation-mediated melting of the Mott insulators with increasing electron kinetic energy remains an outstanding problem. Here, using matrix product state techniques, we analyze the bandwidth-tuned transition out of the Wigner-Mott insulator at $ν=1/5$ in an extended Hubbard model on infinite cylinders of varying circumference. For the two-leg ladder, the transition from the Mott insulator to the Luttinger liquid proceeds via a distinct intermediate phase with gapless Cooper-pairs and gapped electronic excitations. The resulting Luther-Emery liquid is the analog of a strongly fluctuating superconductor. We place these results in the context of a low-energy bosonization based theory for the transition. On the five-leg cylinder, we provide numerical evidence for a direct continuous transition between the Wigner-Mott insulator and a metallic phase across which the spin and charge-gaps vanish simultaneously. We comment on the connections to ongoing experiments in dual-gated bilayer moiré transition metal dichalcogenide materials.Electrons can organize themselves into charge-ordered states to minimize the effects of long-ranged Coulomb interactions. In the presence of a lattice, commensurability constraints lead to the emergence of incompressible Wigner-Mott insulators at various rational electron fillings, $ν~=p/q$. The mechanism for quantum fluctuation-mediated melting of the Mott insulators with increasing electron kinetic energy remains an outstanding problem. Here, using matrix product state techniques, we analyze the bandwidth-tuned transition out of the Wigner-Mott insulator at $ν=1/5$ in an extended Hubbard model on infinite cylinders of varying circumference. For the two-leg ladder, the transition from the Mott insulator to the Luttinger liquid proceeds via a distinct intermediate phase with gapless Cooper-pairs and gapped electronic excitations. The resulting Luther-Emery liquid is the analog of a strongly fluctuating superconductor. We place these results in the context of a low-energy bosonization based theory for the transition. On the five-leg cylinder, we provide numerical evidence for a direct continuous transition between the Wigner-Mott insulator and a metallic phase across which the spin and charge-gaps vanish simultaneously. We comment on the connections to ongoing experiments in dual-gated bilayer moiré transition metal dichalcogenide materials.

arXiv:2305.13355May 22, 20230 citations

m

. In contrast for even integer

m

, the spin sector remains gapless and the resulting insulator is a ladder analog of the two-dimensional spinon surface state. In both cases, a charge neutral spinless mode remains gapless across the Wigner-Mott transition. We discuss physical properties of these transitions and comment on insights obtained for thinking about continuous Wigner-Mott transitions in two-dimensional systems which are being studied in moire materials.

Two-dimensional (2d) electronic systems on a lattice at fractional filling

ν= p/q

exhibit a competition between charge ordered insulators, called Wigner-Mott insulators (WMIs), at large Coulomb repulsion and Fermi-liquid metals at large electronic kinetic energy. When those two energy scales are roughly equal, insulating states that restore the lattice translation symmetry, which we call quantum charge liquids (QCLs), may emerge. When gapped, these QCLs must exhibit topological order. In this work, we show that the allowed topological ordered phases that are proximate to the WMI strongly depend on the charge ordering in the WMI. In particular, we show that when

q

is even, no direct transition exists between a WMI with the smallest allowed unit cell size from filling constraints, i.e., the "minimal" WMI, and the topological order with the smallest ground state degeneracy on a torus allowed by filling constraints, i.e., the "minimal" TO. Furthermore, we describe the quantum melting transition of the WMIs to the proximate QCLs in terms of the proliferation of the topological defects of the WMIs. The field theory of this transition in terms of the topological defects reveals their role as precursors to the anyon excitations in the QCLs.

Continuous Wigner-Mott transition at

ν=1/5

ν~=p/q

. The mechanism for quantum fluctuation-mediated melting of the Mott insulators with increasing electron kinetic energy remains an outstanding problem. Here, using matrix product state techniques, we analyze the bandwidth-tuned transition out of the Wigner-Mott insulator at

ν=1/5

in an extended Hubbard model on infinite cylinders of varying circumference. For the two-leg ladder, the transition from the Mott insulator to the Luttinger liquid proceeds via a distinct intermediate phase with gapless Cooper-pairs and gapped electronic excitations. The resulting Luther-Emery liquid is the analog of a strongly fluctuating superconductor. We place these results in the context of a low-energy bosonization based theory for the transition. On the five-leg cylinder, we provide numerical evidence for a direct continuous transition between the Wigner-Mott insulator and a metallic phase across which the spin and charge-gaps vanish simultaneously. We comment on the connections to ongoing experiments in dual-gated bilayer moiré transition metal dichalcogenide materials.