Mott transition in an anyon gas

Journal Article · Mon Nov 01 04:00:00 EST 1993 · Physical Review, B: Condensed Matter; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.48.13749· OSTI ID:5990836

Chen, W ^[1]; Fisher, M P.A. ^[2]; Wu, Y ^[3]

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1. Department of Physics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6T 1Z1 (Canada)
2. IBM Research, T. J. Watson Research Center, P.O. Box 218, Yorktown Heights, New York 10598 (United States)
3. Center for Theoretical Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 (United States) Department of Physics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112 (United States)

We introduce and analyze a lattice model of anyons in a periodic potential and an external magnetic field, which exhibits a transition from a Mott insulator to a quantum Hall fluid. The transition is characterized by the anyon statistics [alpha], which can vary between fermions, [alpha]=0, and bosons, [alpha]=1. For bosons the transition is in the universality class of the classical three-dimensional [ital XY] model. Near the fermion limit, the transition is described by a massless 2+1 Dirac theory coupled to a Chern-Simons gauge field. Analytic calculations perturbative in [alpha], and also a large-[ital N] expansion, show that due to gauge fluctuations, the critical properties of the transition are dependent on the anyon statistics. Comparison with previous calculations at and near the boson limit, strongly suggest that our lattice model exhibits a fixed line of critical points, with universal critical properties that vary continuously and monotonically as one passes from fermions to bosons. Possible relevance to experiments on the transitions between plateaus in the fractional quantum Hall effect and the magnetic-field-tuned superconductor-insulator transition are briefly discussed.

• OSTI ID: 5990836
• Journal Information: Physical Review, B: Condensed Matter; (United States), Journal Name: Physical Review, B: Condensed Matter; (United States) Vol. 48:18; ISSN PRBMDO; ISSN 0163-1829
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

665400* -- Quantum Physics Aspects of Condensed Matter-- (1992-)
75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS
SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY
ANYONS
ELECTRIC CONDUCTIVITY
ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES
FLUCTUATIONS
GAUGE INVARIANCE
HALL EFFECT
INVARIANCE PRINCIPLES
MAGNETIC FIELDS
PERTURBATION THEORY
PHASE TRANSFORMATIONS
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
QUASI PARTICLES
SUPERCONDUCTIVITY
TWO-DIMENSIONAL CALCULATIONS
VARIATIONS