180 Ch.

4 Mott Tkansition and Hubbard Model

is a correlation effect, beyond the capabilities of independent-electron

theories to describe.

4.7.1 The Mott-Hubbard Transition

The concept of Hubbard subbands offers a direct way to describe a
correlation-induced metal-insulator transition (Fig. 4.9). For a large
enough U ,the subbands are well-separated. There is a critical value
Ucr x t where the subbands touch and we have a situation like that
N

in a zero-gap semiconductor. For U < Ucr the subbands overlap, there

is a finite density of states ~ ( E F ) at the Fermi level, and the system
is metallic. To justify this scenario, it has to be ascertained that the
Hubbard subbands remain recognizable even when U becomes less than
Ucr. The first derivation was given by Hubbard, using a Green's func-
tion decoupling method which has become known as the Hubbard 111
approximation [174]. Later work, especially on the infinite-dimensional
Hubbard model [130], essentially confirmed22the validity of the picture
shown in Fig. 4.9.

E EF

Figure 4.9: From left to right: The Hubbard subbands merge gradually as U is
-
decreased from large values to below the bandwidth. Middle picture: the subbands
touch at a critical value U,, rt.

How metallic is the system for U just below Ucr? We may choose
) measure this. With a three-dimensional form of the DOS at the
p ( c ~to
subband edges, ~ ( E F increases
) continuously from 0 as U decreases below

"There is one important addition: in the metallic regime immediately below U,,,
there is a sharp peak sitting at E F , indicating that the almost localized metal is a
heavy Fermi liquid. This will be discussed in detail in Ch. 10.