Truncated mass divergence in a Mott metal
Year: 2023
Type: article
Abstract: The Mott metal–insulator transition represents one of the most fundamental phenomena in condensed matter physics. Yet, basic tenets of the canonical Brinkman-Rice picture of Mott localization remain to be tested experimentally by quantum oscillation measurements that directly probe the quasiparticle Fermi surface and effective mass. By extending this technique to high pressure, we have examined the metallic state on the threshold of Mott localization in clean, undoped crystals of NiS 2 . We find that i) on approaching Mott localization, the quasiparticle mass is strongly enhanced, whereas the Fermi surface remains essentially unchanged; ii) the quasiparticle mass closely follows the divergent form predicted theoretically, establishing charge carrier slowdown as the driver for the metal–insulator transition; iii) this mass divergence is truncated by the metal–insulator transition, placing the Mott critical point inside the insulating section of the phase diagram. The inaccessibility of the Mott critical point in NiS 2 parallels findings at the threshold of ferromagnetism in clean metallic systems, in which criticality at low temperature is almost universally interrupted by first-order transitions or novel emergent phases such as incommensurate magnetic order or unconventional superconductivity.
Institutions: University of Cambridge, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids, Université de Sherbrooke, University of Bristol, National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, University of Lancashire, University of Oxford, Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research, Radboud University Nijmegen, Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research
Language: English
Subfield: Condensed Matter Physics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Funders: National Science Foundation, National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, University of Cambridge, Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, Trinity College, University of Cambridge, Division of Materials Research, High Magnetic Field Laboratory, Chinese Academy of Sciences, H2020 European Research Council, State of Florida
Awards: G1138554163, Superconducting and normal states in quantum materials, G1593580552, National High Magnetic Field Laboratory Renewal 2018-2022, Fermi surface instabilities and quantum order at high pressure, G2294341347, G2386482098, Correlated electronic states for cryogenic refrigeration - fundamentals and applications, G2547369730, Membership of the UK to the European Magnetic Field Laboratory, G354028113, G3560959519, G4104584106, G410635398, G4113877457, G4624992917, High-pressure studies of Charge-Density-Wave Superconductors, G502626589, National High Magnetic Field Laboratory Renewal 2013-2017, G5597825783, G6010147111, G6947044812, G7431353341, High-Pressure High-Temperature Superconductivity
OpenAlex ID: W4386609385