Work

Metal-insulator transition in a boundary three chain model

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: We study the boundary physics of topologially trivial Mott insulators, representing the boundary by three coupled Hubbard chains in a linear confining potential. In the Hartree-Fock approximation, the ground state at and slightly off the particle-hole symmetric point remains insulating even at large slopes of the confining potential. By contrast, accounting for quantum fluctuations and correlations through a combination of bosonization and renormalization group (RG) methods, we find that there is always a gapless dipole mode, but it does not contribute to a finite compressibility. Moreover, when increasing the slope of the confining potential at half filling, we find a quantum phase transition between an insulating and a metallic state, indicating the formation of a soft edge state of non-topological origin. Away from half filling, a similar transition takes place.

Source: Physical review. B./Physical review. B

DOI: 10.1103/rq6s-z87r

Authors: Niels John, Yuval Gefen, Bernd Rosenow

Institutions: Leipzig University, Weizmann Institute of Science

Language: English

Topic: Quantum many-body systems

Subfield: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics

Field: Physics and Astronomy

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Funders: Indian Institute of Science, German-Israeli Foundation for Scientific Research and Development

Award: G6885532601