Fingerprints of intrinsic phase separation: magnetically doped two-dimensional electron gas

TL;DR

This paper predicts experimental signatures of intrinsic phase separation in magnetically doped two-dimensional electron gases, explaining anomalous transport behaviors observed in Mn-doped CdTe quantum wells.

Contribution

It provides a theoretical framework linking intrinsic phase separation to observable transport phenomena in doped 2D electron systems, supported by experimental agreement.

Findings

Anomalous transport occurs near the metal-insulator transition.

Strong temperature and magnetic field dependence observed.

Weak dependence on electron density in the intermediate regime.

Abstract

In addition to Anderson and Mott localization, intrinsic phase separation has long been advocated as the third fundamental mechanism controlling the doping-driven metal-insulator transitions. In electronic system, where charge neutrality precludes global phase separation, it may lead to various inhomogeneous states and dramaticahttp://arxiv.org/submit/215787/metadata arXiv Submission metadatally affect transport. Here we theoretically predict the precise experimental signatures of such phase-separation-driven metal-insulator transitions. We show that anomalous transport is expected in an intermediate regime around the transition, displaying very strong temperature and magnetic field dependence, but very weak density dependence. Our predictions find striking agreement with recent experiments on Mn-doped CdTe quantum wells, a system where we identify the microscopic origin for intrinsic phase separation.