We present a theoretical investigation of the voltage-driven metal-insulator transition based on solving coupled Boltzmann and Hartree-Fock equations to determine the insulating gap and the electron distribution in a model system: a one-dimensional charge density wave. Electric fields that are parametrically small relative to energy gaps can shift the electron distribution away from the momentum-space region where interband relaxation is efficient, leading to a highly nonequilibrium quasiparticle distribution even in the absence of Zener tunneling. The gap equation is found to have regions of multistability; a nonequilibrium analog of the free energy is constructed and used to determine which phase is preferred.

• Received 24 July 2018

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.98.205152