The glass transition and the Coulomb gap in electron glasses

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that in disordered electron systems with strong interactions, a continuous glass transition occurs, which is linked to the formation of a Coulomb gap, with dynamics governed by marginal stability.

Contribution

It establishes a theoretical connection between the glass transition and Coulomb gap formation, using a systematic multiparticle correlation approach and Landau expansion similar to spin glasses.

Findings

A continuous glass transition occurs in strongly disordered electron systems.

The Landau expansion matches that of the Sherrington-Kirkpatrick spin glass.

Marginal stability leads to slow dynamics and Coulomb gap formation.

Abstract

We establish the connection between the presence of a glass phase and the appearance of a Coulomb gap in disordered materials with strongly interacting electrons. Treating multiparticle correlations in a systematic way, we show that in the case of strong disorder a continuous glass transition takes place whose Landau expansion is identical to that of the Sherrington-Kirkpatrick spin glass. We show that the marginal stability of the glass phase controls the physics of these systems: it results in slow dynamics and leads to the formation of a Coulomb gap.