Can correlations drive a band insulator metallic?

Abstract

We analyze the effects of the on-site Coulomb repulsion U on a band insulator using dynamical mean field theory (DMFT). We find the surprising result that the gap is suppressed to zero at a critical U-c1 and remains zero within a metallic phase. At a larger U-c2 there is a second transition from the metal to a Mott insulator, in which the gap increases with increasing U. These results are qualitatively different from Hartree-Fock theory which gives a monotonically decreasing but nonzero insulating gap for all finite U.

Publication
PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 97, (2006).
Date
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