It has been proposed that an extended version of the Hubbard model which potentially hosts rich correlated physics may be well simulated by the transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) moir\'{ e} heterostructures. Motivated by recent reports of continuous metal-insulator transition (MIT) at half filling, as well as correlated insulators at various fractional fillings in TMD moir\'{ e} heterostructures, we propose a theory for the potentially continuous MIT with fractionalized electric charges. The charge fractionalization at the MIT will lead to various experimental observable effects, such as a large critical resistivity as well as large universal resistivity jump at the continuous MIT. These predictions are different from previously proposed theory for interaction-driven continuous MIT. Physics in phases near the MIT will also be discussed.
Categories: cond-mat.str-el