Volume-wise destruction of the antiferromagnetic Mott insulating state through quantum tuning

• Published in: Nature communications Vol. 7; no. 1; p. 12519
• Main Authors: Frandsen, Benjamin A, Liu, Lian, Cheung, Sky C, Guguchia, Zurab, Khasanov, Rustem, Morenzoni, Elvezio, Munsie, Timothy J S, Hallas, Alannah M, Wilson, Murray N, Cai, Yipeng, Luke, Graeme M, Chen, Bijuan, Li, Wenmin, Jin, Changqing, Ding, Cui, Guo, Shengli, Ning, Fanlong, Ito, Takashi U, Higemoto, Wataru, Billinge, Simon J L, Sakamoto, Shoya, Fujimori, Atsushi, Murakami, Taito, Kageyama, Hiroshi, Alonso, Jose Antonio, Kotliar, Gabriel, Imada, Masatoshi, Uemura, Yasutomo J
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Nature Publishing Group 17.08.2016; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: Applied physics; CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY; Electrons; Phase transitions; New York; United States > US; China; Japan
• ISSN: 2041-1723; 2041-1723
• DOI: 10.1038/ncomms12519

RENiO3 (RE=rare-earth element) and V2O3 are archetypal Mott insulator systems. When tuned by chemical substitution (RENiO3) or pressure (V2O3), they exhibit a quantum phase transition (QPT) between an antiferromagnetic Mott insulating state and a paramagnetic metallic state. Because novel physics often appears near a Mott QPT, the details of this transition, such as whether it is first or second order, are important. Here, we demonstrate through muon spin relaxation/rotation (μSR) experiments that the QPT in RENiO3 and V2O3 is first order: the magnetically ordered volume fraction decreases to zero at the QPT, resulting in a broad region of intrinsic phase separation, while the ordered magnetic moment retains its full value until it is suddenly destroyed at the QPT. These findings bring to light a surprising universality of the pressure-driven Mott transition, revealing the importance of phase separation and calling for further investigation into the nature of quantum fluctuations underlying the transition.