Theory of excitonic Mott transition in double quantum wells

Abstract

We consider an electron-hole system in double quantum wells theoretically. We demonstrate that there is a temperature interval over which an abrupt jump in the value of the ionization degree occurs with an increase of the carrier density or temperature. The opposite effect - the collapse of the ionized electron-hole plasma into an insulating exciton system - should occur at lower densities. In addition, we predict that under certain conditions there will be a sharp decrease of the ionization degree with increasing temperature - the anomalous Mott transition. We discuss how these effects could be observed experimentally.