A quantum theory of the nearly frozen charge glass

TL;DR

This paper develops a quantum theoretical framework to understand the low-temperature dynamics of strongly frustrated, long-range interacting electrons on a triangular lattice, explaining phenomena in charge ordering materials.

Contribution

It introduces a mixed quantum/classical simulation approach that captures quantum defect proliferation, advancing beyond classical models of charge frustration.

Findings

Quantum defects govern low-temperature dynamics.

Results explain charge ordering phenomena in $ heta$-ET$_2$X materials.

Method can be generalized to other charge-frustrated systems.

Abstract

We study long-range interacting electrons on the triangular lattice using mixed quantum/classical simulations going beyond the usual classical descriptions of the lattice Coulomb fluid. Our results in the strong interaction limit indicate that the emergence and proliferation of quantum defects governs the low-temperature dynamics of this strongly frustrated system, in a way that crucially depends on the degree of anisotropy of the electronic structure. The present theoretical findings explain the phenomenology observed in the $\theta$-ET$_2$X charge ordering materials as they fall out of equilibrium. The approach devised here can be easily generalized to address other systems where charge frustration is lifted by quantum fluctuations.