169 research outputs found
Flow diagram of the metal-insulator transition in two dimensions
The discovery of the metal-insulator transition (MIT) in two-dimensional (2D)
electron systems challenged the veracity of one of the most influential
conjectures in the physics of disordered electrons, which states that `in two
dimensions, there is no true metallic behaviour'; no matter how weak the
disorder, electrons would be trapped and unable to conduct a current. However,
that theory did not account for interactions between the electrons. Here we
investigate the interplay between the electron-electron interactions and
disorder near the MIT using simultaneous measurements of electrical resistivity
and magnetoconductance. We show that both the resistance and interaction
amplitude exhibit a fan-like spread as the MIT is crossed. From these data we
construct a resistance-interaction flow diagram of the MIT that clearly reveals
a quantum critical point, as predicted by the two-parameter scaling theory
(Punnoose and Finkel'stein, Science 310, 289 (2005)). The metallic side of this
diagram is accurately described by the renormalization group theory without any
fitting parameters. In particular, the metallic temperature dependence of the
resistance sets in when the interaction amplitude reaches gamma_2 = 0.45 - a
value in remarkable agreement with the one predicted by the theory.Comment: as publishe
Mobility-Dependence of the Critical Density in Two-Dimensional Systems: An Empirical Relation
For five different electron and hole systems in two dimensions (Si MOSFET's,
p-GaAs, p-SiGe, n-GaAs and n-AlAs), the critical density, that marks the
onset of strong localization is shown to be a single power-law function of the
scattering rate deduced from the maximum mobility. The resulting curve
defines the boundary separating a localized phase from a phase that exhibits
metallic behavior. The critical density in the limit of infinite
mobility.Comment: 2 pages, 1 figur
Large Bychkov-Rashba spin-orbit coupling in high-mobility GaN/AlGaN heterostructures
We present low temperature magnetoconductivity measurements of a
density-tunable and high mobility two-dimensional electron gas confined in the
wide bandgap GaN/AlGaN system. We observed pronounced anti-localization minima
in the low-field conductivity, indicating the presence of strong spin-orbit
coupling. Density dependent measurements of magnetoconductivity indicate that
the coupling is mainly due to the Bychkov-Rashba mechanism. In addition, we
have derived a closed-form expression for the magnetoconductivity, allowing us
to extract reliable transport parameters for our devices. The Rashba spin-orbit
coupling constant is 6 10eVm, while the
conduction band spin-orbit splitting energy amounts to
0.3meV at n=1m.Comment: Accepted for publication in PR
Interaction effects on magnetooscillations in a two-dimensional electron gas
Motivated by recent experiments, we study the interaction corrections to the
damping of magnetooscillations in a two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG). We
identify leading contributions to the interaction-induced damping which are
induced by corrections to the effective mass and quantum scattering time. The
damping factor is calculated for Coulomb and short-range interaction in the
whole range of temperatures, from the ballistic to the diffusive regime. It is
shown that the dominant effect is that of the renormalization of the effective
electron mass due to the interplay of the interaction and impurity scattering.
The results are relevant to the analysis of experiments on magnetooscillations
(in particular, for extracting the value of the effective mass) and are
expected to be useful for understanding the physics of a high-mobility 2DEG
near the apparent metal-insulator transition.Comment: 24 pages; subsection adde
Typical-Medium Theory of Mott-Anderson Localization
The Mott and the Anderson routes to localization have long been recognized as
the two basic processes that can drive the metal-insulator transition (MIT).
Theories separately describing each of these mechanisms were discussed long
ago, but an accepted approach that can include both has remained elusive. The
lack of any obvious static symmetry distinguishing the metal from the insulator
poses another fundamental problem, since an appropriate static order parameter
cannot be easily found. More recent work, however, has revisited the original
arguments of Anderson and Mott, which stressed that the key diference between
the metal end the insulator lies in the dynamics of the electron. This physical
picture has suggested that the "typical" (geometrically averaged) escape rate
from a given lattice site should be regarded as the proper dynamical order
parameter for the MIT, one that can naturally describe both the Anderson and
the Mott mechanism for localization. This article provides an overview of the
recent results obtained from the corresponding Typical-Medium Theory, which
provided new insight into the the two-fluid character of the Mott-Anderson
transition.Comment: to be published in "Fifty Years of Anderson localization", edited by
E. Abrahams (World Scientific, Singapore, 2010); 29 pages, 22 figures
Absence of backscattering at integrable impurities in one-dimensional quantum many-body systems
We study interacting one dimensional (1D) quantum lattice gases with
integrable impurities. These model Hamiltonians can be derived using the
quantum inverse scattering method for inhomogeneous models and are by
construction integrable. Absence of backscattering at the impurities is shown
to be the characteristic feature of these disordered systems. The value of the
effective carrier charge and the Sutherland-Shastry relation are derived for
the half-filled XXX model and are shown to be independent of the impurity
concentration and strength. For the half-filled XXZ model we show that there is
no enhancement of the persistent currents for repulsive interactions. For
attractive interactions we identify a crossover regime beyond which enhancement
of the currents is observed.Comment: 14 RevTeX 3.0 pages with 1 PS-figure include
Enhanced Charge and Spin Currents in the One-Dimensional Disordered Mesoscopic Hubbard Ring
We consider a one-dimensional mesoscopic Hubbard ring with and without
disorder and compute charge and spin stiffness as a measure of the permanent
currents. For finite disorder we identify critical disorder strength beyond
which the charge currents in a system with repulsive interactions are {\em
larger} than those for a free system. The spin currents in the disordered
repulsive Hubbard model are enhanced only for small , where the magnetic
state of the system corresponds to a charge density wave pinned to the
impurities. For large , the state of the system corresponds to localized
isolated spins and the spin currents are found to be suppressed. For the
attractive Hubbard model we find that the charge currents are always suppressed
compared to the free system at all length scales.Comment: 20 RevTeX 3.0 pages, 8 figures NOT include
Two Scenarios of the Quantum Critical Point
Two different scenarios of the quantum critical point (QCP), a
zero-temperature instability of the Landau state, related to the divergence of
the effective mass, are investigated. Flaws of the standard scenario of the
QCP, where this divergence is attributed to the occurrence of some second-order
phase transition, are demonstrated. Salient features of a different {\it
topological} scenario of the QCP, associated with the emergence of bifurcation
points in equation that ordinarily determines the Fermi
momentum, are analyzed. The topological scenario of the QCP is applied to
three-dimensional (3D) Fermi liquids with an attractive current-current
interaction.Comment: 6 pages, added new discussion and 2 figure
Sharp increase of the effective mass near the critical density in a metallic 2D electron system
We find that at intermediate temperatures, the metallic temperature
dependence of the conductivity \sigma(T) of 2D electrons in silicon is
described well by a recent interaction-based theory of Zala et al. (Phys. Rev.
B 64, 214204 (2001)). The tendency of the slope d\sigma/dT to diverge near the
critical electron density is in agreement with the previously suggested
ferromagnetic instability in this electron system. Unexpectedly, it is found to
originate from the sharp enhancement of the effective mass, while the effective
Lande g factor remains nearly constant and close to its value in bulk silicon
Sharply increasing effective mass: a precursor of the spontaneous spin polarization in a dilute two-dimensional electron system
We have measured the effective mass, m, and Lande g-factor in very dilute
two-dimensional electron systems in silicon. Two independent methods have been
used: (i) measurements of the magnetic field required to fully polarize the
electrons' spins and (ii) analysis of the Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations. We
have observed a sharp increase of the effective mass with decreasing electron
density while the g-factor remains nearly constant and close to its value in
bulk silicon. The corresponding strong rise of the spin susceptibility may be a
precursor of a spontaneous spin polarization; unlike in the Stoner scenario, it
originates from the enhancement of the effective mass rather than the increase
of g-factor. Furthermore, using tilted magnetic fields, we have found that the
enhanced effective mass is independent of the degree of spin polarization and,
therefore, its increase is not related to spin exchange effects, in
contradiction with existing theories. Our results show that the dilute 2D
electron system in silicon behaves well beyond a weakly interacting Fermi
liquid.Comment: This paper summarizes results reported in our recent publications on
the subjec
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