No Arabic abstract
Molybdenum purple bronze Li$_{0.9}$Mo$_{6}$O$_{17}$ is an exceptional material known to exhibit one dimensional (1D) properties for energies down to a few meV. This fact seems to be well established both in experiments and in band structure theory. We use the unusual, very 1-dimensional band dispersion obtained in emph{ab-initio} DFT-LMTO band calculations as our starting point to study the physics emerging below 300meV. A dispersion perpendicular to the main dispersive direction is obtained and investigated in detail. Based on this, we derive an effective low energy theory within the Tomonaga Luttinger liquid (TLL) framework. We estimate the strength of the possible interactions and from this deduce the values of the TLL parameters for charge modes. Finally we investigate possible instabilities of TLL by deriving renormalization group (RG) equations which allow us to predict the size of potential gaps in the spectrum. While $2k_F$ instabilities strongly suppress each other, the $4k_F$ instabilities cooperate, which paves the way for a possible CDW at the lowest energies. The aim of this work is to understand the experimental findings, in particular the ones which are certainly lying within the 1D regime. We discuss the validity of our 1D approach and further perspectives for the lower energy phases.
Temperature dependent photoemission spectroscopy in Li0.9Mo6O17 contributes to evidence for one dimensional physics that is unusually robust. Three generic characteristics of the Luttinger liquid are observed, power law behavior of the k-integrated spectral function down to temperatures just above the superconducting transition, k-resolved lineshapes that show holon and spinon features, and quantum critical (QC) scaling in the lineshapes. Departures of the lineshapes and the scaling from expectations in the Tomonaga Luttinger model can be partially described by a phenomenological momentum broadening that is presented and discussed. The possibility that some form of 1d physics obtains even down to the superconducting transition temperature is assessed.
We study systems of coupled spin-gapped and gapless Luttinger liquids. First, we establish the existence of a sliding Luttinger liquid phase for a system of weakly coupled parallel quantum wires, with and without disorder. It is shown that the coupling can {it stabilize} a Luttinger liquid phase in the presence of disorder. We then extend our analysis to a system of crossed Luttinger liquids and establish the stability of a non-Fermi liquid state: the crossed sliding Luttinger liquid phase (CSLL). In this phase the system exhibits a finite-temperature, long-wavelength, isotropic electric conductivity that diverges as a power law in temperature $T$ as $T to 0$. This two-dimensional system has many properties of a true isotropic Luttinger liquid, though at zero temperature it becomes anisotropic. An extension of this model to a three-dimensional stack exhibits a much higher in-plane conductivity than the conductivity in a perpendicular direction.
We study a system of crossed spin-gapped and gapless Luttinger liquids. We establish the existence of a stable non-Fermi liquid state with a finite-temperature,long-wavelength, isotropic electric conductivity that diverges as a power law in temperature $T$ as $Tto 0$. This two-dimensional system has many properties characteristic of a true isotropic Luttinger liquid, though at zero temperature it becomes anisotropic. This model can easily be extended to three dimensions.
We investigate the role of inter-orbital fluctuations in the low energy physics of a quasi-1D material - lithium molybdenum purple bronze (LMO). It is an exceptional material that may provide us a long sought realization of a Tomonaga-Luttinger liquid (TLL) physics, but its behaviour at temperatures of the order of $T^*approx 30$K remains puzzling despite numerous efforts. Here we make a conjecture that the physics around $T^*$ is dominated by multi-orbital excitations. Their properties can be captured using an excitonic picture. Using this relatively simple model we compute fermionic Greens function in the presence of excitons. We find that the spectral function is broadened with a Gaussian and its temperature dependence acquires an extra $T^1$ factor. Both effects are in perfect agreement with experimental findings. We also compute the resistivity for temperatures above and below critical temperature $T_o$. We explain an upturn of the resistivity at 28K and interpret the suppression of this extra component of resistivity when a magnetic field is applied along the conducting axis. Furthermore, in the framework of our model, we qualitatively discuss and consistently explain other experimentally detected peculiarities of purple bronze: the breaking of Wiedmann-Franz law and the magnetochromatic behaviour.
We report a detailed magnetotransport study of the highly anisotropic quasi-one-dimensional oxide Li$_{0.9}$Mo$_6$O$_{17}$ whose in-chain electrical resistivity diverges below a temperature $T_{rm min} sim$ 25 K. For $T < T_{rm min}$, a magnetic field applied parallel to the conducting chain induces a large negative magnetoresistance and ultimately, the recovery of a metallic state. We show evidence that this insulator/metal crossover is a consequence of field-induced suppression of a density-wave gap in a highly one-dimensional conductor. At the highest fields studied, there is evidence for the possible emergence of a novel superconducting state with an onset temperature $T_c >$ 10 K.