Mott Transition between a Spin-Liquid Insulator and a Metal in Three Dimensions
Daniel K. Podolsky, Arun Paramekanti, Yong Baek Kim +1 more
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.
arXiv:0811.2218•Physical Review Letters•May 6, 2009•89 citations