Current control of systems with a Peierls distortion by magnetic field

TL;DR

This paper investigates how magnetic fields can control the electronic phases of a ladder system with Peierls distortion, revealing transitions between insulating and metallic states and their topological properties.

Contribution

It introduces a model combining Peierls distortion and magnetic flux, analyzing phase transitions and current control mechanisms using Landau-Zener and instanton methods.

Findings

Magnetic field induces insulator-metal-insulator transitions.

Topological transition occurs at the metallic state.

Transition probabilities are calculated using Landau-Zener and instanton methods.

Abstract

We study the tunneling phenomenon of a ladder system with a Peierls distortion in a magnetic flux, and the response of electrons the insulator is investigated when the tunneling current flows on one-dimensional gapped chains along the external electric field. Without the magnetic field, the ladder system is insulated by the charge density wave order. Then, by the increase of the magnetic field, it becomes metallic with the disappearance of the distortion of the lattice. Finally, the gap appears, and it becomes a insulator. At the metallic state, the topological transition also occurs. To show this phenomenon, we consider the distortion by the phonon in the ladder model, and calculate the distortion gap and the transition probability by using both Landau-Zener formula and the instanton method. The transition to the metallic states will be applied to the current control by the magnetic field.