What is Mott Transition and its basic Priniciple?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around the concept of Mott Transition, exploring its principles and implications in the context of electron interactions and the transition between metallic and insulating states. Participants seek clarification on how electron localization occurs and the role of interactions in this phenomenon.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant expresses curiosity about the Mott Transition, suggesting it connects quantum and classical mechanics and involves electron localization due to pairing.
  • Another participant points out that the initial question is broad and suggests reviewing existing literature, including Wikipedia, for a foundational understanding.
  • A participant with knowledge of band energy formation seeks to understand where the Mott Transition fits in and how electron interactions can lead to metals behaving as insulators.
  • Multiple participants reference external articles to provide deeper insights into the Mott Transition, including a specific review article and a mention of a lattice model proposed by Mott.
  • One participant raises questions about apparent contradictions in the explanation of Mott's model, specifically regarding the treatment of electron interactions and occupancy of lattice sites.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on the explanation of Mott Transition, with some expressing confusion over the details and others providing references without resolving the misunderstandings. The discussion remains unresolved regarding the specifics of how electron interactions lead to the Mott Transition.

Contextual Notes

Participants highlight limitations in understanding the foundational concepts of electron interactions and the implications for metallic and insulating behavior, indicating a need for clarity on definitions and models used in the discussion.

Sagar Rawal
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Hello Everyone,

I was really curious to know what really is Mott Transition and How it works. I searched for hours but couldn't find any helpful answer. Somewhere it was suggested that it is a bridge between Quantum and Classical Mechanics and it is due to electron interaction where electron remains localized to their orbits due to pairing.
But I don't know how this piece of puzzzle fit together.

Can anyone please explain me the basic idea and how electons remains localized or what that even means?

Thanks in advance.
 
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Somehow you missed this wiki article and about 100 other hits from a Google search.
 
The question you've asked is so broad that answering it would involve repeating most or all of the Wikipedia article. You'll get better and more helpful answers more quickly if you can work through the Wikipedia article and other google hits for yourself, and ask more focused questions here when and if you get stuck. An internet discussion forum generally is more useful for helping people over the hard spots than providing a broad overview of a topic.
 
Thank you for your answer. I have knowledge of Band Energy formation and how insulator or conductors are formed. But I'm stuck where the mott transiton come in between and How electron interaction affect metals such that it becomes insulators.
 
Sagar Rawal said:
Thank you for your answer. I have knowledge of Band Energy formation and how insulator or conductors are formed. But I'm stuck where the mott transiton come in between and How electron interaction affect metals such that it becomes insulators.

Please read this review article:

http://webhome.phy.duke.edu/~baranger/articles/strong_cor/MItransitions_rmp.pdf

Pay attention to the discussion leading to Fig. 5 in the article.

Zz.
 
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Sagar Rawal said:
It doesn't open says page can't be loaded.

It works for me, and I'm looking at it from home and with no site-access of any kind.

The official reference is : M. Imada et al., Reviews of Modern Physics, Vol. 70, p.1039 (1998).

Zz.
 
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I found this paragraph from one of wiki article, "Mott considers a lattice model with just one electron per site. Without taking the interaction into account, each site could be occupied by two electrons, one with spin up and one with spin down. Due to the interaction the electrons would then feel a strong Coulomb repulsion, which Mott argued splits the band in two: The lower band is then occupied by the first electron per site, the upper by the second. If each site is only occupied by a single electron the lower band is completely filled and the upper band completely empty, the system thus a so-called Mott insulator."

What I don't understood here is

At first it is said that Mott consider a lattice model without taking interaction into account but later mentioned that due to interaction electorns would feel strong columb repulsion? Isn't that contradicts the first statement?

It is first said that he considers just one electron per site but later said each site could be occupied by two electons, which again contradicts the first statement.

So can you please explain me what I'm missing here or what really affects metals to become insulators or what is mott insulators?
 

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