Probing metal-insulator criticality with cavity photons
This study used quantum Monte Carlo simulations to see if light particles (photons) could change a metal-insulator transition in correlated electrons. The result is that photons don't alter the critical point itself, but they couple with electronic excitations to form a 'polariton' mode. This polariton mode appears when the system is metallic and disappears when it becomes insulating, acting as a probe for Mott criticality.