Dynamical dimerization and subdiffusive transport of strongly correlated neutral-ionic systems coupled to lattices

TL;DR

This study investigates how local lattice dimerization influences the dynamics and transport properties of neutral-ionic systems, revealing subdiffusive domain wall motion and enhanced conductivity near phase transitions.

Contribution

It introduces the role of local lattice dimerization effects on neutral-ionic domain wall dynamics and transport in strongly correlated systems.

Findings

NIDWs exhibit subdiffusive motion due to lattice dimerization.

Conductivity increases by an order of magnitude near the transition.

Dimer fluctuations support antiferromagnetic correlations and enhance NIDW mobility.

Abstract

We study the Monte Carlo dynamics of strongly correlated classical particles coupled to lattice degrees of freedom that exhibit the neutral-ionic transitions in one dimension, relevant to the organic compounds TTF-CA and TTF-BA. The particles carrying up and down spins suffer strong Coulomb interactions and undergo a neutral-to-ionic transition when the alternating site potentials become small, accompanying the charge transfer to the higher energy sites. The model is already shown to exhibit the enhancement of conductivity near the neutral-to-ionic crossover, which is carried by the neutral-ionic domain walls (NIDWs) that show diffusive character. Here, by incorporating local lattice dimerization effects, the motion of NIDWs becomes subdiffusive, and the conductivity is enhanced by one order of magnitude. When the ionic and dimerized states coexist, the strong fluctuation of dimer configuration supports the antiferromagnetic spin correlation, suppresses Pauli blocking, and subsequently enhances the motion of NIDWs. Our results highlight the crucial role of local and fluctuating dimerization in governing transport and ferroelectric properties near neutral-ionic transitions.