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arXiv:cond-mat/0608010

Mott-Hubbard Scenario for the Metal-Insulator Transition in the Two Dimensional Electron Gas

Ping Sun

Published Aug 1, 2006• 0 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

By comparing the responses to an in-plane magnetic field near the metal-insulator transition (MIT), we find that the observed MIT in Si MOSFETs can be described by the non-perturbative Mott-Hubbard scenario. Interrelations between independent measurables are uncovered and confirmed by replotting the experimental data. A universal critical energy scale vanishing at the MIT is extracted from the experimental data and the critical exponent found.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.cond-mat/0608010

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By comparing the responses to an in-plane magnetic field near the metal-insulator transition (MIT), we find that the observed MIT in Si MOSFETs can be described by the non-perturbative Mott-Hubbard scenario. Interrelations between independent measurables are uncovered and confirmed by replotting the experimental data. A universal critical energy scale vanishing at the MIT is extracted from the experimental data and the critical exponent found.
The unanalytical feature of the Mott–Hubbard metal-insulator transition in infinite dimensions is studied by using a modified self-consistency scheme in the framework of dynamical mean-field theory. For a specific low temperature T=0.0025W (W: half bandwidth), the "Z"-shaped or "S"-shaped curves for double occupancy D, energy per lattice site E, and the quasi-particle weight Z are obtained as functions of U. Direct observation shows that the Fermi-liquid phase changes to the insulating phase through a non-Fermi-liquid phase at the unstable level. Based on our results, a scenario of zero temperature MIT is proposed. The phase diagram for MIT on the T–D plane is also presented.
The resistivities of the dilute, strongly interacting two-dimensional electron systems in the insulating phase of a silicon MOSFET are the same for unpolarized electrons in the absence of magnetic field and for electrons that are fully spin polarized by the presence of an in-plane magnetic field. In both cases the resistivity obeys Efros-Shklovskii variable range hopping $\ensuremath{\rho}(T)={\ensuremath{\rho}}_{0}\text{exp}[{({T}_{ES}/T)}^{1/2}]$, with TES{T}_{ES}TES​ and $1/{\ensuremath{\rho}}_{0}$ mapping onto each other if one applies a shift of the critical density nc{n}_{\text{c}}nc​ reported earlier. With and without magnetic field, the parameters TES{T}_{ES}TES​ and $1/{\ensuremath{\rho}}_{0}={\ensuremath{\sigma}}_{0}$ exhibit scaling consistent with critical behavior approaching a metal-insulator transition.
Abstract: The metal–insulator transition (MIT) constitutes one of the most profound and persistent problems in condensed matter physics, sitting at the intersection of electronic structure theory, many-body physics, and emergent quantum phenomena. Conventional band theory, which successfully classifies materials as metals or insulators according to the filling of their electronic bands, fails dramatically when confronted with a class of compounds transition metal oxides chief among them that ought to be metallic by band-counting arguments yet are robustly insulating in the laboratory. The resolution of this paradox required abandoning the independent-electron picture entirely and recognizing that strong Coulomb repulsion between electrons can, by itself, drive localization. This insight, formalized by Mott and later distilled into the Hubbard model, established correlation-driven insulation as a phenomenon distinct from band insulation. The present paper offers a theoretical exploration of the MIT problem, tracing its conceptual development from the Mott criterion through the Hubbard Hamiltonian, the Brinkman–Rice scenario of quasiparticle mass divergence, and the watershed development of dynamical mean-field theory (DMFT), which rendered the Mott transition quantitatively tractable for the first time. We argue that the competition between the electronic bandwidth and the on-site interaction encoded in the ratio U/W provides the unifying organizing principle for the field. Building toward the modern frontier, we examine how the Mott transition connects to quantum phase transitions and quantum criticality, where zero-temperature instabilities governed by quantum rather than thermal fluctuations produce non-Fermi-liquid behavior and anomalous scaling. Case studies of vanadium oxides, rare-earth nickelates, and doped cuprates illustrate the diversity and subtlety of real correlated materials. We conclude that the MIT remains a central and unresolved problem whose continued study is increasingly entangled with the development of quantum materials and quantum technologies. Keywords: Metal–Insulator Transition; Mott Insulator; Strongly Correlated Electrons; Hubbard Model; DMFT; Quantum Criticality; Quantum Materials; Condensed Matter Physics
The in-plane magnetoconductance of the strongly interacting two-dimensional electron system in a silicon MOSFET (metal-oxide-semiconductor-field-effect transistor) exhibits an unmistakable kink at a well-defined electron density, nk{n}_{k}nk​. The kink at nk{n}_{k}nk​ is near, but not at the critical density nc{n}_{c}nc​ determined from resistivity measurements, and the density at which nk{n}_{k}nk​ occurs varies with temperature. These features are inconsistent with expectations for a quantum phase transition. We suggest instead that this is a percolation transition and present a detailed model based on the formation of a mixed insulating and metallic phase within which a metal-insulator transition takes place by percolation.
The quantum phase transition observed experimentally in two-dimensional (2D) electron systems has been a subject of theoretical and experimental studies for almost 30 years. We suggest Gaussian approximation to the mean-field theory of the second-order phase transition to explain the experimental data. Our approach explains self-consistently the universal value of the critical exponent 3/2 (found after scaling measured resistivities on both sides of the transition as a function of temperature) as the result of the divergence of the correlation length when the electron density approaches the critical value. We also provide numerical evidence for the stretched exponential temperature dependence of the metallic phase's resistivities in a wide range of temperatures and show that it leads to correct qualitative results. Finally, we interpret the phase diagram on the density-temperature plane exhibiting the quantum critical point, quantum critical trajectory and two crossover lines. Our research presents a theoretical description of the seminal experimental results.
The Mott-Hubbard transition is studied by examining the metal-insulator transition (MIT) in the homogeneous phase of the two-dimensional spinless Falicov-Kimball model. We use an extension of dynamical mean-field approximation, which allows inclusion of nonlocal correlations. The extension is based on the projection technique and the dynamical mean-field approximation, in which nonlocal contributions to the dynamics of systems are taken into account through static quantities, while the dynamical local contributions are kept by the memory function. We investigate critical behaviours of various dynamic and thermodynamic quantities near the MIT and estimate their critical exponents. The critical exponents obtained support a hyperscaling hypothesis and show a significant influence of nonlocal charge correlations on the transition.