First-Order Insulator-to-Metal Mott Transition in the Paramagnetic 3D System GaTa4Se8

Abstract

The nature of the Mott transition in the absence of any symmetry braking remains a matter of debate. We study the correlation-driven insulator-to-metal transition in the prototypical 3D Mott system GaTa4Se8, as a function of temperature and applied pressure. We report novel experiments on single crystals, which demonstrate that the transition is of first order and follows from the coexistence of two states, one insulating and one metallic, that we toggle with a small bias current. We provide support for our findings by contrasting the experimental data with calculations that combine local density approximation with dynamical mean-field theory, which are in very good agreement.

5 pages and 4 figures. Supplemental material: 2 pages, 2 figures

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• Electric-Field-Induced Resistive Switching in a Family of Mott Insulators : towards Non-Volatile Mott-RRAM Memories
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Cited by in corpus (7)

• Direct experimental observation of the molecular Jeff=3/2 ground state in the lacunar spinel GaTa4Se8
• Lattice dynamics and electronic excitations in a large family of lacunar spinels with a breathing pyrochlore lattice structure
• Structural, magnetic, electric, dielectric, and thermodynamic properties of multiferroic GeV4S8
• Excitations and relaxation dynamics in multiferroic GeV4S8 studied by THz and dielectric spectroscopy
• Establishing magneto-structural relationships in the solid solutions of the skyrmion hosting family of materials: GaV${}_4$S${}_{8-y}$Se${}_y$
• Charge density functional plus $U$ calculation of lacunar spinel GaM${}_4$Se${}_8$ (M = Nb, Mo, Ta, and W)
• Magnetic Order and Mott Transition on the Checkerboard Lattice