Is expanded fluid mercury a ferroelectric excitonic insulator?

Leonid A. Turkevich, Morrel H. Cohen

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

47 Scopus citations

Abstract

We relate the metal-nonmetal transition in expanded liquid mercury to the dielectric transition in dense mercury vapor. Condensation of Frenkel excitons into an excitonic-insulator phase is shown to occur at the dielectric transition. The excitons unbind at the associated (Mott) metal-nonmetal transition. The permanent dipole moments of the condensed excitons are estimated to order as a ferroelectric phase; the critical exponents of the liquid-gas transition therefore become classical.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)2323-2326
Number of pages4
JournalPhysical review letters
Volume53
Issue number24
DOIs
StatePublished - 1984
Externally publishedYes

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • General Physics and Astronomy

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