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Title: Superconductor-Insulator Transition and Fermi-Bose Crossovers

Abstract

The direct transition from an insulator to a superconductor (SC) in Fermi systems is a problem of long-standing interest, which necessarily goes beyond the standard BCS paradigm of superconductivity as a Fermi surface instability. We introduce here a simple, translationally invariant lattice fermion model that undergoes a SC-insulator transition (SIT) and elucidate its properties using analytical methods and quantum Monte Carlo simulations. We show that there is a fermionic band insulator to bosonic insulator crossover in the insulating phase and a BCS-to-BEC crossover in the SC. The SIT is always found to be from a bosonic insulator to a BEC-like SC, with an energy gap for fermions that remains finite across the SIT. Hence, the energy scales that go critical at the SIT are the gap to pair excitations in the insulator and the superfluid stiffness in the SC. In addition to giving insight into important questions about the SIT in solid-state systems, our model should be experimentally realizable using ultracold fermions in optical lattices.

Authors:
; ; ; ;
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
The Ohio State Univ., Columbus, OH (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE; National Science Foundation (NSF); UC Office of the President
OSTI Identifier:
1254897
Alternate Identifier(s):
OSTI ID: 1280978
Grant/Contract Number:  
FG02-07ER46423; AC52-07NA27344; 15-ERD-013
Resource Type:
Published Article
Journal Name:
Physical Review. X
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Name: Physical Review. X Journal Volume: 6 Journal Issue: 2; Journal ID: ISSN 2160-3308
Publisher:
American Physical Society
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY; quantum monte-carlo; hubbard-model; einstein condensation; ultracold atoms; mott insulator; lattice; physics; superfluid; excitons; systems

Citation Formats

Loh, Yen Lee, Randeria, Mohit, Trivedi, Nandini, Chang, Chia-Chen, and Scalettar, Richard. Superconductor-Insulator Transition and Fermi-Bose Crossovers. United States: N. p., 2016. Web. doi:10.1103/PhysRevX.6.021029.
Loh, Yen Lee, Randeria, Mohit, Trivedi, Nandini, Chang, Chia-Chen, & Scalettar, Richard. Superconductor-Insulator Transition and Fermi-Bose Crossovers. United States. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevX.6.021029
Loh, Yen Lee, Randeria, Mohit, Trivedi, Nandini, Chang, Chia-Chen, and Scalettar, Richard. Tue . "Superconductor-Insulator Transition and Fermi-Bose Crossovers". United States. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevX.6.021029.
@article{osti_1254897,
title = {Superconductor-Insulator Transition and Fermi-Bose Crossovers},
author = {Loh, Yen Lee and Randeria, Mohit and Trivedi, Nandini and Chang, Chia-Chen and Scalettar, Richard},
abstractNote = {The direct transition from an insulator to a superconductor (SC) in Fermi systems is a problem of long-standing interest, which necessarily goes beyond the standard BCS paradigm of superconductivity as a Fermi surface instability. We introduce here a simple, translationally invariant lattice fermion model that undergoes a SC-insulator transition (SIT) and elucidate its properties using analytical methods and quantum Monte Carlo simulations. We show that there is a fermionic band insulator to bosonic insulator crossover in the insulating phase and a BCS-to-BEC crossover in the SC. The SIT is always found to be from a bosonic insulator to a BEC-like SC, with an energy gap for fermions that remains finite across the SIT. Hence, the energy scales that go critical at the SIT are the gap to pair excitations in the insulator and the superfluid stiffness in the SC. In addition to giving insight into important questions about the SIT in solid-state systems, our model should be experimentally realizable using ultracold fermions in optical lattices.},
doi = {10.1103/PhysRevX.6.021029},
journal = {Physical Review. X},
number = 2,
volume = 6,
place = {United States},
year = {Tue May 31 00:00:00 EDT 2016},
month = {Tue May 31 00:00:00 EDT 2016}
}

Journal Article:
Free Publicly Available Full Text
Publisher's Version of Record
https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevX.6.021029

Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 23 works
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