Avoided metallicity in a hole-doped Mott insulator on a triangular lattice

Chi Ming Yim (), Gesa-R. Siemann, Srdjan Stavrić, Seunghyun Khim, Izidor Benedičič, Philip A. E. Murgatroyd, Tommaso Antonelli, Matthew D. Watson, Andrew P. Mackenzie, Silvia Picozzi (), Phil D. C. King () and Peter Wahl ()
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Chi Ming Yim: University of St Andrews, North Haugh
Gesa-R. Siemann: University of St Andrews, North Haugh
Srdjan Stavrić: Unitá di Ricerca presso Terzi c/o Universitá “G. D’Annunzio”
Seunghyun Khim: Nöthnitzer Straße 40
Izidor Benedičič: University of St Andrews, North Haugh
Philip A. E. Murgatroyd: University of St Andrews, North Haugh
Tommaso Antonelli: University of St Andrews, North Haugh
Matthew D. Watson: Harwell Science and Innovation Campus
Andrew P. Mackenzie: University of St Andrews, North Haugh
Silvia Picozzi: Unitá di Ricerca presso Terzi c/o Universitá “G. D’Annunzio”
Phil D. C. King: University of St Andrews, North Haugh
Peter Wahl: University of St Andrews, North Haugh

Nature Communications, 2024, vol. 15, issue 1, 1-8

Abstract: Abstract Doping of a Mott insulator gives rise to a wide variety of exotic emergent states, from high-temperature superconductivity to charge, spin, and orbital orders. The physics underpinning their evolution is, however, poorly understood. A major challenge is the chemical complexity associated with traditional routes to doping. Here, we study the Mott insulating CrO2 layer of the delafossite PdCrO2, where an intrinsic polar catastrophe provides a clean route to doping of the surface. From scanning tunnelling microscopy and angle-resolved photoemission, we find that the surface stays insulating accompanied by a short-range ordered state. From density functional theory, we demonstrate how the formation of charge disproportionation results in an insulating ground state of the surface that is disparate from the hidden Mott insulator in the bulk. We demonstrate that voltage pulses induce local modifications to this state which relax over tens of minutes, pointing to a glassy nature of the charge order.

Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-52007-z

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