SciPost Submission Page
A quantum theory of the nearly frozen charge glass
by Simone Fratini, Katherine Driscoll, Sergio Ciuchi and Arnaud Ralko
This Submission thread is now published as
Submission summary
| Authors (as registered SciPost users): | Sergio Ciuchi · Simone Fratini |
| Submission information | |
|---|---|
| Preprint Link: | scipost_202210_00018v2 (pdf) |
| Date accepted: | 2023-01-10 |
| Date submitted: | 2022-11-16 17:14 |
| Submitted by: | Fratini, Simone |
| Submitted to: | SciPost Physics |
| Ontological classification | |
|---|---|
| Academic field: | Physics |
| Specialties: |
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| Approach: | Theoretical |
Abstract
We study long-range interacting electrons on the triangular lattice using mixed quantum/classical simulations going beyond the usual classical descriptions of the lattice Coulomb fluid. Our results in the strong interaction limit indicate that the proliferation of quantum defects governs the low-temperature dynamics of this strongly frustrated system. The present theoretical findings explain the phenomenology observed in the $\theta$-ET$_2$X materials as they fall out of equilibrium, including glassiness, resistive switching and a strong sensitivity to the electronic structure anisotropy. The method devised here can be easily generalized to address other systems and devices where itinerant and correlation-localized degrees of freedom are intertwined on short lengthscales.
Author comments upon resubmission
We are glad that our work has been positively appreciated by both referees. It is our pleasure to submit a revised manuscript today with the requested changes proposed in the reports.
We have carefully addressed all questions and remarks and updated the manuscript accordingly. A complete list of changes is provided in our response to referees.
We are confident that all points have been treated and that this revised version of the manuscript is now suitable for publication in SciPost.
Best regards,
The authors.
List of changes
Report 1
1- We have added a new Fig. 1 where the molecular arrangement of the ET2X system is illustrated together with a sketch of the microscopic hopping processes considered in the Hamiltonian. In the caption we have given a brief list of physical systems to which the theory may apply.
2- The section Model and Methods has been updated with a corrected form of the Hamiltonian, including detailed explanations of the symbols and making explicit reference to the newly added Fig.1.
3- We have added the sentence : "This customary approximation is justified by the fact that the double site occupations required for spin exchange processes are suppressed at concentrations away from integer fillings."
4- We thank the referee for this useful suggestion. The corresponding figure has been updated accordingly.
5- A new paragraph has been incorporated in the manuscript in Section 3.3, providing full details on the physical content and practical method of calculation of the optical conductivity. The derivation of this original method is now also mentioned in the conclusion. Two new references have been added for the readers to find more details.
Report 2
The width of P(n) observed at high temperatures is of thermal origin, being entirely determined by the distribution of local electrostatic potentials. For this reason, it is actually broader than the width of the sharp peaks observed at n=0.1 at lower temperatures (see Fig. 5(a)). To clarify this important point we have updated Fig.4 (now Fig.5) with a new panel (b) illustrating the distribution of the electrostatic potentials that is at the origin of the behavior of the charge density distribution. We have accordingly discussed the new figure in the manuscript.
Published as SciPost Phys. 14, 124 (2023)
Reports on this Submission
Strengths
1- Relevance of the topic
2- Evidence in favor of the glassy nature of the charge frozen phase
3- Coherence and simplicity of the overall scenario
Weaknesses
1- Lack of a deeper discussion about the role of the geometry and/or the presence of other therms in the model Hamiltonian
Report
I am satisfied with the authors' reply to mi suggestions and criticism and with the changes they made. I understand that some of my curiosities go beyond the scope of the present manuscript, so I recommend publication without further changes.