4.

2 Mott Tkansition 151

L 2s

>
a0
a (lattice constant)

Figure 4.1: The schematic representation of the lattice constant dependence of

the tight binding band structure of Na. The bands derived from the atomic 28, 2p,
and 3s levels are shown. Shading indicates filled states At the equilibrium lattice
constant a0 the 3s-band is fairly wide. Band theory would lead us to expect that
the half-filled 33 band gives rise to metallic conduction, no matter how narrow the
33 band becomes.

It is clear that eventually this leads to an absurdity. At large enough

atom-atom distances, we no longer have a metal but an array of neutral
Na atoms, i.e., a non-conductor.
Why is a hypothetical periodic array of widely separated N a atoms
with a lattice constant of, say, lOnm not a metal? For electrical conduc-
tion, electrons should propagate through the lattice, leading to charge