title: Dielectric breakdown and avalanches at nonequilibrium metal-insulator transitions.
abstract: Motivated by recent experiments on the finite temperature Mott transition in VO(2) films, we propose a classical coarse-grained dielectric breakdown model where each degree of freedom represents a nanograin which transitions from insulator to metal with increasing temperature and voltage at random thresholds due to quenched disorder. We describe the properties of the resulting nonequilibrium metal-insulator transition and explain the universal characteristics of the resistance jump distribution. We predict that by tuning voltage, another critical point is approached, which separates a phase of boltlike avalanches from percolationlike ones.
authors.affiliation: LASSP, Physics Department, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853-2501, USA.
authors.forename: Ashivni
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shekhawat
authors.forename: Stefanos
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Papanikolaou
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zapperi
authors.forename: James P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Sethna