Anderson-Mott Transition Driven by Spin Disorder: Spin Glass Transition and Magnetotransport in Amorphous GdSi

TL;DR

This paper investigates how spin disorder induces an Anderson-Mott transition in amorphous GdSi, revealing a spin glass phase and colossal magnetoconductance through a comprehensive theoretical model and numerical solutions.

Contribution

It presents a self-consistent model explaining the interplay of structural and spin disorder leading to the transition, including detailed transport and optical properties in amorphous GdSi.

Findings

Identification of a spin glass phase in amorphous GdSi

Observation of Anderson-Mott signatures in transport and tunneling spectra

Unusual magneto-optical conductivity consistent with experimental data

Abstract

A zero temperature Anderson-Mott transition driven by spin disorder can be `tuned' by an applied magnetic field to achieve colossal magnetoconductance. Usually this is not possible since spin disorder by itself cannot localise a high density electron system. However, the presence of strong structural disorder can realise this situation, self consistently generating a disordered magnetic ground state. We explore such a model, constructed to understand amorphous GdSi, and highlight the emergence of a spin glass phase, Anderson-Mott signatures in transport and tunneling spectra, and unusual magneto-optical conductivity. We solve a disordered strong coupling fermion-spin-lattice problem essentially exactly on finite systems, and account for all the qualitative features observed in magnetism, transport, and the optical spectra in this system.