Phonon-Assisted Crossover from a Nonmagnetic Peierls Insulator to a Magnetic Stoner Metal

Yongcheng Liang, Xun Yuan, Yanfeng Gao, Wenqing Zhang, and Peihong Zhang
Phys. Rev. Lett. 113, 176401 – Published 21 October 2014
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Abstract

We report a unique temperature-induced insulator-metal transition in MnB4 that is accompanied by a simultaneous magnetostructural change from a nonmagnetic monoclinic mP20 phase to a magnetic orthorhombic oP10 phase. Such a concurring magnetostructural and insulator-metal transformation is a manifestation of a strong competition between Peierls and Stoner mechanisms that governs a crossover from an electron-pairing to an electron-localization scenario in this system. Therefore, the phase stability of MnB4 is controlled by a subtle interplay among the Peierls mechanism, Stoner mechanism, and phonon free energy. Our findings not only resolve the longstanding magnetostructural puzzle of MnB4 but also provide a realistic system for the Peierls-Hubbard model.

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  • Received 16 July 2014

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.113.176401

© 2014 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

Yongcheng Liang1,*, Xun Yuan1,2, Yanfeng Gao3, Wenqing Zhang2,3,†, and Peihong Zhang3,4,‡

  • 1College of Engineering Science and Technology, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai 201306, China
  • 2State Key Laboratory of High Performance Ceramics and Superfine Microstructures, Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200050, China
  • 3Materials Genome Institute and Department of Physics, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, China
  • 4Department of Physics, University at Buffalo, State University of New York, Buffalo, New York 14260, USA

  • *ycliang@shou.edu.cn
  • wqzhang@mail.sic.ac.cn
  • pzhang3@buffalo.edu

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Issue

Vol. 113, Iss. 17 — 24 October 2014

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