Metal - non-metal transition and the second critical point in expanded metals

TL;DR

This paper theoretically justifies the existence of a second critical point in expanded metals, associated with a metal-nonmetal transition, using quantum field theory and consistent with recent experimental findings.

Contribution

It provides a theoretical prediction of a second critical point in expanded metals based on Coulomb interactions and multi-component matter, supporting experimental observations.

Findings

Second critical point is theoretically justified.

Matter at the second critical point is a true dielectric.

Results align with recent experimental data.

Abstract

Based on the non-relativistic Coulomb model within which the matter is a system of interacting electrons and nuclei, using the quantum field theory and linear response theory methods, opportunity for the existence of the second critical point in expanded metals, which is directly related to the metal--nonmetal transition, predicted by Landau and Zeldovitch, is theoretically justified. It is shown that the matter at the second critical point is in the state of true dielectric with zero static conductivity. The results obtained are in agreement with recent experiments for expanded metals. The existence of the second critical point is caused by the initial multi-component nature of the matter consisting of electrons and nuclei and the long-range character of the Coulomb interaction. (Accepted in PTEP)