Observation of an exotic insulator to insulator transition upon electron doping the Mott insulator CeMnAsO.

ABSTRACT: A promising route to discover exotic electronic states in correlated electron systems is to vary the hole or electron doping away from a Mott insulating state. Important examples include quantum criticality and high-temperature superconductivity in cuprates. Here, we report the surprising discovery of a quantum insulating state upon electron doping the Mott insulator CeMnAsO, which emerges below a distinct critical transition temperature, T_II. The insulator-insulator transition is accompanied by a significant reduction in electron mobility as well as a colossal Seebeck effect and slow dynamics due to decoupling of the electrons from the lattice phonons. The origin of the transition is tentatively interpreted in terms of many-body localization, which has not been observed previou

SUBMITTER: Wildman EJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10624918 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature