Strongly Correlated Electrons Driven by an Electric Field

Speaker: Dr. Camille Aron, Rutgers University

When: November 28, 2012 (Wed), 02:00PM to 03:00PM (add to my calendar)
Location: SCI 328
Hosted by: Claudio Chamon

This event is part of the Condensed Matter Theory Seminar Series.

Abstract: Strongly correlated many-body systems driven out of equilibrium are attracting a lot of interest, motivated by new experimental realizations in non-linear transport in devices, heterostructures and cold atoms. Theoretically, the challenge is to understand the interplay between the strong correlation and the finite drive. In this talk, I will focus on the Hubbard model driven by a constant electric field. First, I will introduce the theoretical tools we used to address the non-equilibrium steady states, bypassing the transient dynamics. At the dynamical mean-field level, I will describe how the lattice problem can be self-consistently mapped to a multi-lead Anderson impurity model. Afterwards, I will discuss the fate of Mott physics in the non-linear regime by detailing two key far from equilibrium phenomena: - the dimensional crossover towards a lower dimensional equilibrium system; - the dielectric breakdown of the Mott insulator.

References: C. Aron, G. Kotliar, C. Weber, PRL 108, 086401 (2012) C. Aron, PRB 86, 085127 (2012) C. Aon, C. Weber, G. Kotliar, arXiv:1210.4926 (2012)