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Article Dans Une Revue Comptes Rendus. Physique Année : 2007

Herzfeld instability versus Mott transition in metal-ammonia solutions

Gennady N. Chuev
  • Fonction : Auteur
Pascal Quemerais

Résumé

Although most metal-insulator transitions in doped insulators are generally viewed as Mott transitions, some systems seem to deviate from this scenario. Alkali metal-ammonia solutions are a brilliant example of this. They reveal a phase separation in the range of metal concentrations where a metal-insulator transition occurs. Using a mean spherical approximation for quantum polarizable fluids, we argue that the origin of the metal-insulator transition in such a system is likely to be similar to that proposed by Herzfeld a long time ago, namely, due to fluctuations of solvated electrons. We also show how the phase separation may appear: the Herzfeld instability of the insulator occurs at a concentration for which the metallic phase is also unstable. As a consequence, the Mott transition cannot occur at low temperature. The proposed scenario may provide a new insight into the metal-insulator transition in condensed-matter physics.

Dates et versions

hal-00943197 , version 1 (07-02-2014)

Identifiants

Citer

Gennady N. Chuev, Pascal Quemerais. Herzfeld instability versus Mott transition in metal-ammonia solutions. Comptes Rendus. Physique, 2007, 8, pp.449-455. ⟨10.1016/j.crhy.2007.05.016⟩. ⟨hal-00943197⟩

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