arXiv subjects

S. Fratini

Publications and source records attributed to S. Fratini.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2008

Hopping dynamics of interacting polarons

We derive an effective cluster model to address the transport properties of mutually interacting small polarons. We propose a decoupling scheme where the hopping dynamics of any given particle is determined by separating out explicitly the degrees of freedom of its environment, which are treated as a statistical bath. The general cavity method developed here shows that the long-range Coulomb repulsion between the carriers leads to a net increase of the thermal activation barrier for electrical transport, and hence to a sizable reduction of the carrier mobility. A mean-field calculation of this effect is provided, based on the known correlation functions of the interacting liquid in two and three dimensions. The present theory gives a natural explanation of recent experiments performed in organic field-effect transistors with highly polarizable gate dielectrics, and might well find application in other classes of polaronic systems such as doped transition-metal oxides.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2008

Signatures of polaronic charge ordering in optical and dc conductivity using dynamical mean field theory

We apply dynamical mean field theory to study a prototypical model that describes charge ordering in the presence of both electron-lattice interactions and intersite electrostatic repulsion between electrons. We calculate the optical and d.c. conductivity, and derive approximate formulas valid in the limiting electron-lattice coupling regimes. In the weak coupling regime, we recover the usual behavior of charge density waves, characterized by a transfer of spectral weight due to the opening of a gap in the excitation spectrum. In the opposite limit of very strong electron-lattice coupling, instead, the charge ordering transition is signaled by a global enhancement of the optical absorption, with no appreciable spectral weight transfer. Such behavior is related to the progressive suppression of thermally activated charge defects taking place below the critical temperature. At intermediate values of the coupling within the polaronic regime, a complex behavior is obtained where both mechanisms of transfer and enhancement of spectral weight coexist.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2008

Electrostatic interactions between graphene layers and their environment

We analyze the electrostatic interactions between a single graphene layer and a SiO$_2$ susbtrate, and other materials which may exist in its environment. We obtain that the leading effects arise from the polar modes at the SiO$_2$ surface, and water molecules, which may form layers between the graphene sheet and the substrate. The strength of the interactions implies that graphene is pinned to the substrate at distances greater than a few lattice spacings. The implications for graphene nanoelectromechanical systems, and for the interaction between graphene and a STM tip are also considered.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2008

Current saturation and Coulomb interactions in organic single-crystal transistors

Electronic transport through rubrene single-crystal field effect transistors (FETs) is investigated experimentally in the high carrier density regime (n ~ 0.1 carrier/molecule). In this regime, we find that the current does not increase linearly with the density of charge carriers, and tends to saturate. At the same time, the activation energy for transport unexpectedly increases with increasing n. We perform a theoretical analysis in terms of a well-defined microscopic model for interacting Frohlich polarons, that quantitatively accounts for our experimental observations. This work is particularly significant for our understanding of electronic transport through organic FETs.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2008

Polaronic signatures in the optical properties of Nd$_{2-x}$Ce$_x$CuO$_4$

We investigate the temperature and doping dependence of the optical conductivity $σ(ω)$ of Nd$_{2-x}$Ce$_x$CuO$_4$ in terms of magnetic/lattice polaron formation. We employ dynamical mean-field theory in the context of the Holstein-t-J model where an exact analytical solution is available in the limit of infinite connectivity. We show that the pseudogap features in the optical conductivity of this compound can be associated to the formation of lattice polarons assisted by the magnetic interaction.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2007

Substrate limited electron dynamics in graphene

We study the effects of polarizable substrates such as SiO2 and SiC on the carrier dynamics in graphene. We find that the quasiparticle spectrum acquires a finite broadening due to the long-range interaction with the polar modes at the interface between graphene and the substrate. This mechanism results in a density dependent electrical resistivity, that exhibits a sharp increase around room temperature, where it can become the dominant limiting factor of electron transport. The effects are weaker in doped bilayer graphene, due to the more conventional parabolic band dispersion.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2007

Electron-phonon and electron-electron interactions in organic field effect transistors

Recent experiments have demonstrated that the performances of organic FETs strongly depend on the dielectric properties of the gate insulator. In particular, it has been shown that the temperature dependence of the mobility evolves from a metallic-like to an insulating behavior upon increasing the dielectric constant of the gate material. This phenomenon can be explained in terms of the formation of small polarons, due to the polar interaction of the charge carriers with the phonons at the organic/dielectric interface. Building on this model, the possible consequences of the Coulomb repulsion between the carriers at high concentrations are analyzed.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2007

Polaronic features in the optical properties of the Holstein-t-J model

We derive the exact solution for the optical conductivity $σ(ω)$ of one hole in the Holstein-t-J model in the framework of dynamical mean-field theory (DMFT). We investigate the magnetic and phonon features associated with polaron formation as a function of the exchange coupling $J$, of the electron-phonon interaction $λ$ and of the temperature. Our solution directly relates the features of the optical conductivity to the excitations in the single-particle spectral function, revealing two distinct mechanisms of closing and filling of the optical pseudogap that take place upon varying the microscopic parameters. We show that the optical absorption at the polaron crossover is characterized by a coexistence of a magnon peak at low frequency and a broad polaronic band at higher frequency. An analytical expression for $σ(ω)$ valid in the polaronic regime is presented.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2007

Optical properties of the Holstein-t-J model from dynamical mean-field theory

We employ dynamical mean-field theory to study the optical conductivity $σ(ω)$ of one hole in the Holstein-t-J model. We provide an exact solution for $σ(ω)$ in the limit of infinite connectivity. We apply our analysis to Nd$_{2-x}$Ce$_x$CuO$_4$. We show that our model can explain many features of the optical conductivity in this compounds in terms of magnetic/lattice polaron formation.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2007

Optical and spectral properties of quantum domain-walls in the generalized Wigner lattice

We study the spectral properties of a system of electrons interacting through long-range Coulomb potential on a one-dimensional chain. When the interactions dominate over the electronic bandwidth, the charges arrange in an ordered configuration that minimizes the electrostatic energy, forming Hubbard's generalized Wigner lattice. In such strong coupling limit, the low energy excitations are quantum domain-walls that behave as fractionalized charges, and can be bound in excitonic pairs. Neglecting higher order excitations, the system properties are well described by an effective Hamiltonian in the subspace with one pair of domain-walls, which can be solved exactly. The optical conducitivity $σ(ω)$ and the spectral function $A(k,ω)$ can be calculated analytically, and reveal unique features of the unscreened Coulomb interactions that can be directly observed in experiments.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2006

Tunable Frohlich Polarons in Organic Single-Crystal Transistors

In organic field effect transistors (FETs), charges move near the surface of an organic semiconductor, at the interface with a dielectric. In the past, the nature of the microscopic motion of charge carriers -that determines the device performance- has been related to the quality of the organic semiconductor. Recently, it has been appreciated that also the nearby dielectric has an unexpectedly strong influence. The mechanisms responsible for this influence are not understood. To investigate these mechanisms we have studied transport through organic single crystal FETs with different gate insulators. We find that the temperature dependence of the mobility evolves from metallic-like to insulating-like with increasing the dielectric constant of the insulator. The phenomenon is accounted for by a two-dimensional Frohlich polaron model that quantitatively describes our observations and shows that increasing the dielectric polarizability results in a crossover from the weak to the strong polaronic coupling regime.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2006

Optical properties of small polarons from dynamical mean-field theory

The optical properties of polarons are studied in the framework of the Holstein model by applying the dynamical mean-field theory. This approach allows to enlighten important quantitative and qualitative deviations from the limiting treatments of small polaron theory, that should be considered when interpreting experimental data. In the antiadiabatic regime, accounting on the same footing for a finite phonon frequency and a finite electron bandwidth allows to address the evolution of the optical absorption away from the well-understood molecular limit. It is shown that the width of the multiphonon peaks in the optical spectra depends on the temperature and on the frequency in a way that contradicts the commonly accepted results, most notably in the strong coupling case. In the adiabatic regime, on the other hand, the present method allows to identify a wide range of parameters of experimental interest, where the electron bandwidth is comparable or larger than the broadening of the Franck-Condon line, leading to a strong modification of both the position and the shape of the polaronic absorption. An analytical expression is derived in the limit of vanishing broadening, which improves over the existing formulas and whose validity extends to any finite-dimensional lattice. In the same adiabatic regime, at intermediate values of the interaction strength, the optical absorption exhibits a characteristic reentrant behavior, with the emergence of sharp features upon increasing the temperature -- polaron interband transitions -- which are peculiar of the polaron crossover, and for which analytical expressions are provided.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2006

Enhancement of Wigner crystallization in quasi low-dimensional solids

The crystallization of electrons in quasi low-dimensional solids is studied in a model which retains the full three-dimensional nature of the Coulomb interactions. We show that restricting the electron motion to layers (or chains) gives rise to a rich sequence of structural transitions upon varying the particle density. In addition, the concurrence of low-dimensional electron motion and isotropic Coulomb interactions leads to a sizeable stabilization of the Wigner crystal, which could be one of the mechanisms at the origin of the charge ordered phases frequently observed in such compounds.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2005

Polarization catastrophe at low densities of polarons: from Cuprates to Metal-Ammonia Solutions

We review some results on the role played by dielectric polarons at the metal-insulator transition in polarizable materials, taking into account the long-range nature of the Coulomb interactions. The occurrence of a polarization catastrophe is examined in a model describing a Wigner crystal of polarons. The possible relevance of this scenario in the cuprates and in metal-ammonia solutions is discussed.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2005

Fate of the Wigner crystal on the square lattice

The phase diagram of a system of electrons hopping on a square lattice and interacting through long-range Coulomb forces is studied as a function of density and interaction strength. The presence of a lattice strongly enhances the stability of the Wigner crystal phase as compared to the case of the two-dimensional electron gas.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2005

Spectral properties and isotope effect in strongly interacting systems: Mott-Hubbard insulator and polaronic semiconductor

We study the electronic spectral properties in two examples of strongly interacting systems: a Mott-Hubbard insulator with additional electron-boson interactions, and a polaronic semiconductor. An approximate unified framework is developed for the high energy part of the spectrum, in which the electrons move in a random field determined by the interplay between magnetic and bosonic fluctuations. When the boson under consideration is a lattice vibration, the resulting isotope effect on the spectral properties is similar in both cases, being strongly temperature and energy dependent, in qualitative agreement with recent photoemission experiments in the cuprates.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2004

On the stability of hole crystals in layered cuprates

Recent STM measurements have revealed the existence of periodic charge modulations at the surface of certain cuprate superconductors. Here we show that the observed patterns are compatible with the formation of a three-dimensional crystal of doped holes, with space correlations extending between different Cu-O layers. This puts severe constraints on the dynamical stability of the crystallised hole structure, resulting in a close relationship between the periodicity of the electronic modulation and the interlayer distance.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2004

Magnetoresistance of itinerant electrons interacting with local spins

Transport properties of itinerant electrons interacting with local spins are analyzed as function of the bandwidth, $W$, the exchange interaction, $J$, and the band filling, $n$, near the band edge. Numerical results have been obtained within the dynamical mean-field approximation and interpreted with the help of analytical treatments. If spatial correlations of the magnetic fluctuations can be neglected, and defining $ρ(m)$ as the magnetization dependent resistivity, we find that $δρ/ ρ(0) \sim n^{-4/3}$ for $J / W, n \ll 1$ (weak coupling, low density limit), $δρ/ ρ(0) \sim constant$, for $J / W \gg 1, n \ll 1$ (double exchange, low density limit), where $δρ= \partial ρ/ \partial m^2 |_{m^2 \to 0}$. Possible limitations from ignoring both localization effects and critical fluctuations are also considered.

cond-mat.str-el↗