Momentum-resolved fingerprint of Mottness in layer-dimerized Nb3Br8

Mihir Date, Francesco Petocchi, Yun Yen, Jonas A. Krieger, Banabir Pal, Vicky Hasse, Emily C. McFarlane, Chris Körner, Jiho Yoon, Matthew D. Watson, Vladimir N. Strocov, Yuanfeng Xu, Ilya Kostanovski, Mazhar N. Ali, Sailong Ju, Nicholas C. Plumb, Michael A. Sentef, Georg Woltersdorf, Michael Schüler, Philipp Werner, Claudia Felser, Stuart S. P. Parkin and Niels B. M. Schröter ()
Additional contact information
Mihir Date: Max Planck Institut für Mikrostrukturphysik
Francesco Petocchi: University of Geneva
Yun Yen: Paul Scherrer Institute
Jonas A. Krieger: Max Planck Institut für Mikrostrukturphysik
Banabir Pal: Max Planck Institut für Mikrostrukturphysik
Vicky Hasse: Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids Nöthnitzer Straße
Emily C. McFarlane: Max Planck Institut für Mikrostrukturphysik
Chris Körner: Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg
Jiho Yoon: Max Planck Institut für Mikrostrukturphysik
Matthew D. Watson: Harwell Science and Innovation Campus
Vladimir N. Strocov: Paul Scherrer Institute
Yuanfeng Xu: Zhejiang University
Ilya Kostanovski: Max Planck Institut für Mikrostrukturphysik
Mazhar N. Ali: Max Planck Institut für Mikrostrukturphysik
Sailong Ju: Paul Scherrer Institute
Nicholas C. Plumb: Paul Scherrer Institute
Michael A. Sentef: University of Bremen
Georg Woltersdorf: Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg
Michael Schüler: Paul Scherrer Institute
Philipp Werner: University of Fribourg
Claudia Felser: Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids Nöthnitzer Straße
Stuart S. P. Parkin: Max Planck Institut für Mikrostrukturphysik
Niels B. M. Schröter: Max Planck Institut für Mikrostrukturphysik

Nature Communications, 2025, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-8

Abstract: Abstract Crystalline solids can become band insulators due to fully filled bands, or Mott insulators due to strong electronic correlations. While Mott insulators can theoretically occur in systems with an even number of electrons per unit cell, distinguishing them from band insulators experimentally has remained a longstanding challenge. In this work, we present a unique momentum-resolved signature of a dimerized Mott-insulating phase in the experimental spectral function of Nb3Br8: the top of the highest occupied band along the out-of-plane direction kz has a momentum-space separation Δkz = 2π/d, whereas that of a band insulator is less than π/d, where d is the average interlayer spacing. Identifying Nb3Br8 as a Mott insulator is crucial to understand its role in the field-free Josephson diode effect. Moreover, our method could be extended to other van der Waals systems where tuning interlayer coupling and Coulomb interactions can drive a band- to Mott-insulating transition.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-58885-1

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