IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/nat/natcom/v16y2025i1d10.1038_s41467-025-58885-1.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Momentum-resolved fingerprint of Mottness in layer-dimerized Nb3Br8

Author

Listed:
  • Mihir Date

    (Max Planck Institut für Mikrostrukturphysik
    Harwell Science and Innovation Campus)

  • Francesco Petocchi

    (University of Geneva)

  • Yun Yen

    (Paul Scherrer Institute
    École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL))

  • Jonas A. Krieger

    (Max Planck Institut für Mikrostrukturphysik
    PSI Center for Neutron and Muon Sciences CNM)

  • Banabir Pal

    (Max Planck Institut für Mikrostrukturphysik)

  • Vicky Hasse

    (Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids Nöthnitzer Straße)

  • Emily C. McFarlane

    (Max Planck Institut für Mikrostrukturphysik)

  • Chris Körner

    (Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg)

  • Jiho Yoon

    (Max Planck Institut für Mikrostrukturphysik)

  • Matthew D. Watson

    (Harwell Science and Innovation Campus)

  • Vladimir N. Strocov

    (Paul Scherrer Institute)

  • Yuanfeng Xu

    (Zhejiang University)

  • Ilya Kostanovski

    (Max Planck Institut für Mikrostrukturphysik)

  • Mazhar N. Ali

    (Max Planck Institut für Mikrostrukturphysik
    Delft University of Technology)

  • Sailong Ju

    (Paul Scherrer Institute)

  • Nicholas C. Plumb

    (Paul Scherrer Institute)

  • Michael A. Sentef

    (University of Bremen
    Luruper Chaussee 149)

  • Georg Woltersdorf

    (Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg)

  • Michael Schüler

    (Paul Scherrer Institute
    University of Fribourg)

  • Philipp Werner

    (University of Fribourg)

  • Claudia Felser

    (Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids Nöthnitzer Straße)

  • Stuart S. P. Parkin

    (Max Planck Institut für Mikrostrukturphysik)

  • Niels B. M. Schröter

    (Max Planck Institut für Mikrostrukturphysik)

Abstract

Crystalline solids can become band insulators due to fully filled bands, or Mott insulators due to strong electronic correlations. While Mott insulators can theoretically occur in systems with an even number of electrons per unit cell, distinguishing them from band insulators experimentally has remained a longstanding challenge. In this work, we present a unique momentum-resolved signature of a dimerized Mott-insulating phase in the experimental spectral function of Nb3Br8: the top of the highest occupied band along the out-of-plane direction kz has a momentum-space separation Δkz = 2π/d, whereas that of a band insulator is less than π/d, where d is the average interlayer spacing. Identifying Nb3Br8 as a Mott insulator is crucial to understand its role in the field-free Josephson diode effect. Moreover, our method could be extended to other van der Waals systems where tuning interlayer coupling and Coulomb interactions can drive a band- to Mott-insulating transition.

Suggested Citation

  • Mihir Date & Francesco Petocchi & Yun Yen & Jonas A. Krieger & Banabir Pal & Vicky Hasse & Emily C. McFarlane & Chris Körner & Jiho Yoon & Matthew D. Watson & Vladimir N. Strocov & Yuanfeng Xu & Ilya , 2025. "Momentum-resolved fingerprint of Mottness in layer-dimerized Nb3Br8," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 16(1), pages 1-8, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:16:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-025-58885-1
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-58885-1
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-58885-1
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1038/s41467-025-58885-1?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:16:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-025-58885-1. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.nature.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.