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Probing dielectric breakdown in Mott insulators through current oscillations
by Joan Triadú-Galí, Artur Garcia-Saez, Bruno Juliá-Díaz, Axel Pérez-Obiol
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Submission summary
| Authors (as registered SciPost users): | Joan Triadú |
| Submission information | |
|---|---|
| Preprint Link: | https://arxiv.org/abs/2502.12702v2 (pdf) |
| Date accepted: | June 24, 2025 |
| Date submitted: | May 26, 2025, 11:36 a.m. |
| Submitted by: | Triadú, Joan |
| Submitted to: | SciPost Physics |
| Ontological classification | |
|---|---|
| Academic field: | Physics |
| Specialties: |
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| Approaches: | Theoretical, Computational |
Abstract
We investigate the dielectric breakdown of mesoscopic Mott insulators, a phenomenon where a strong electric field destabilizes the insulating state, resulting in a transition to a metallic phase. Using the Landau-Zener formalism, which models the excitation of a two-level system, we derive a theoretical expression for the threshold value of the field. To validate our predictions, we present an efficient protocol for estimating the charge gap and threshold field via non-equilibrium current oscillations, overcoming the computational limitations of exact diagonalization. Our simulations demonstrate the accuracy of our theoretical formula for systems with small gaps. Moreover, our findings are directly testable in ultracold atomic experiments with ring geometries and artificial gauge fields, as our method uses measurable quantities and relies on already available technologies. This work aims to bridge the gap between theoretical models and experimentally realizable protocols, providing tools to explore non-equilibrium mesoscopic phenomena in strongly correlated quantum systems.
Author indications on fulfilling journal expectations
- Provide a novel and synergetic link between different research areas.
- Open a new pathway in an existing or a new research direction, with clear potential for multi-pronged follow-up work
- Detail a groundbreaking theoretical/experimental/computational discovery
- Present a breakthrough on a previously-identified and long-standing research stumbling block
List of changes
In order of appearance: - In Figure 2, we included the full spectrum within the displayed range. - Replaced “Aharonov period” with “Aharonov-Bohm period” on page 5. - Added the Fourier transform of the current in Figure 3. - Added a paragraph after Eq. (17) discussing the range of interaction strength and lattice sizes for which Eq. (17) is valid. - Added the Fourier transform of the current in Figure 5. - Added a sentence on the range of validity of Eq. (24) in terms of $E$ and emphasized that if $\Delta_0\approx\Delta$, Eq. (24) fails regardless of the field strength. - In Figure 8, added two data points in the range of $1.8<\Delta<2$ for $L=6$ and two more data-points in the range of $1.0<\Delta<1.1$ for $L=10$. The new data points with solid markers were also added to Figure 9. - The full (empty) markers on Figure 8 were mistakenly labeled as the $L<\xi$ ($L>\xi$ ) regime when they corresponded to $L-1<\xi$ ($L-1 >\xi$). This has been corrected. We believe that with this change, the important point is not altered: our numerical approach starts to fail when $L\approx\xi$. - In the caption of Figure 8, we now highlight that the estimation of $\xi$ is done with Eq. (9). - Added a sentence on the discussion on how the critical behavior resembles to the one of a single-particle system. - Added the Quantum Spain project in the funding information section. - Updated Ref. [54] because it has been published in a journal.
Published as SciPost Phys. 19, 010 (2025)
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Requested changes
The grid in the newly added Figs.3b) and 3d) appears too coarse. To determine the peak positions accurately, could the authors increase the number of frequency points?
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