Title
Universal magnetic-field-driven metal-insulator-metal transformations in graphite and bismuth
Date Issued
10 May 2006
Access level
open access
Resource Type
journal article
Author(s)
Kopelevich Y.
Da Silva R.
Moehlecke S.
Universidade Estadual de Campinas
Abstract
Applied magnetic field induces metal-insulator and reentrant insulator-metal transitions in both graphite and rhombohedral bismuth. The corresponding transition boundaries plotted on the magnetic field-temperature (B-T) plane nearly coincide for these semimetals and can be best described by power laws T∼ (B- Bc) κ, where Bc is a critical field at T=0 and κ=0.45±0.05. We show that insulator-metal-insulator (I-M-I) transformations take place in the Landau level quantization regime and illustrate how the insulator-metal transformation in graphite samples with a moderate anisotropy transforms into a cascade of I-M-I transitions, related to the quantum Hall effect in strongly anisotropic, quasi-two-dimensional graphite samples. We discuss the possible coupling of superconducting and excitonic correlations with the observed phenomena, as well as the signatures of quantum phase transitions associated with the M-I and I-M transformations. © 2006 The American Physical Society.
Volume
73
Issue
16
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Física y Astronomía Ciencias naturales
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-33646260488
Source
Physical Review B - Condensed Matter and Materials Physics
ISSN of the container
1550235X
Sources of information: Directorio de Producción Científica Scopus