First-Order Insulator-to-Metal Mott Transition in the Paramagnetic 3D System GaTa4Se8

A. Camjayi, C. Acha, R. Weht, M. G. Rodríguez, B. Corraze, E. Janod, L. Cario, and M. J. Rozenberg
Phys. Rev. Lett. 113, 086404 – Published 21 August 2014
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Abstract

The nature of the Mott transition in the absence of any symmetry breaking remains a matter of debate. We study the correlation-driven insulator-to-metal transition in the prototypical 3D Mott system GaTa4Se8, as a function of temperature and applied pressure. We report novel experiments on single crystals, which demonstrate that the transition is of first order and follows from the coexistence of two states, one insulating and one metallic, that we toggle with a small bias current. We provide support for our findings by contrasting the experimental data with calculations that combine local density approximation with dynamical mean-field theory, which are in very good agreement.

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  • Received 8 November 2013

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.113.086404

© 2014 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

A. Camjayi1, C. Acha1, R. Weht2,3, M. G. Rodríguez1, B. Corraze4, E. Janod4, L. Cario4, and M. J. Rozenberg5,*

  • 1Departamento de Física, FCEN, UBA, and IFIBA, CONICET, Pabellón 1, Ciudad Universitaria, 1428 Buenos Aires, Argentina
  • 2Gerencia de Investigación y Aplicaciones, Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica (CNEA), Avenida General Paz y Constituyentes, 1650 San Martín, Argentina
  • 3Instituto Sábato, Universidad Nacional de San Martín-CNEA, 1650 San Martín, Argentina
  • 4Institut des Matériaux Jean Rouxel (IMN), Université de Nantes, CNRS, 2 rue de la Houssinière, BP32229, 44322 Nantes, France
  • 5Laboratoire de Physique des Solides, CNRS-UMR8502, Université de Paris-Sud, Orsay 91405, France

  • *On leave from Departamento de Física, FCEN, UBA, and IFIBA, CONICET, Pabellón 1, Ciudad Universitaria, 1428 Buenos Aires, Argentina.

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Vol. 113, Iss. 8 — 22 August 2014

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