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Richard T. Scalettar

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Published work

35 published item(s)

preprint2026arXiv

Parallel Scan Recurrent Neural Quantum States for Scalable Variational Monte Carlo

Neural-network quantum states have emerged as a powerful variational framework for quantum many-body systems, with recent progress often driven by massively parallel architectures such as transformers. Recurrent neural network quantum states, however, are frequently regarded as intrinsically sequential and therefore less scalable. Here we revisit this view by showing that modern recurrent architectures can support fast, accurate, and computationally accessible neural quantum state simulations. Using autoregressive recurrent wave functions together with recent advances in parallelizable recurrence, we develop variational ansätze, called parallel scan recurrent neural quantum states (PSR-NQS), which can be trained efficiently within variational Monte Carlo in one and two spatial dimensions. We demonstrate accurate benchmark results and show that, with iterative retraining, our approach reaches two-dimensional spin lattices as large as $52\times52$ while remaining in agreement with available quantum Monte Carlo data. Our results establish recurrent architectures as a practical and promising route toward scalable neural quantum state simulations with modest computational resources.

preprint2022arXiv

Charge Singlets and Orbital-Selective Charge Density Wave Transitions

The possibility of "orbitally selective Mott transitions" within a multiband Hubbard model, in which one orbital with large on-site electron-electron repulsion $U_1$ is insulating and another orbital, to which it is hybridized, with small $U_{-1}$, is metallic, is a problem of long-standing debate and investigation. In this paper we study an analogous phenomenon, the co-existence of metallic and insulating bands in a system of orbitals with different electron-phonon coupling (EPC). To this end, we examine two variants of the bilayer Holstein model: a uniform bilayer and a "Holstein-Metal interface" where the electron-phonon coupling, $λ$, is zero in the "metallic" layer. In the uniform bilayer Holstein model, charge density wave (CDW) order dominates at small interlayer hybridization $t_3$, but decreases and eventually vanishes as $t_3$ grows, providing a charge analog of singlet (spin liquid) physics. In the interface case, we show that CDW order penetrates into the metal layer and forms long-range CDW order at intermediate ratio of inter- to intra-layer hopping strengths, $1.4 \lesssim t_3/t \lesssim 3.4$. This is consistent with the occurrence of an "orbitally selective CDW" regime at weak $t_3$ in which the layer with $λ_{1} \neq 0$ exhibits long-range charge order, but the "metallic layer" with $λ_{-1}=0$, to which it is hybridized, does not.

preprint2022arXiv

Effect of Emitters on Quantum State Transfer in Coupled Cavity Arrays

Over the last decade, conditions for perfect state transfer in quantum spin chains have been discovered, and their experimental realizations addressed. In this paper, we consider an extension of such studies to quantum state transfer in a coupled cavity array including the effects of atoms in the cavities which can absorb and emit photons as they propagate down the array. Our model is equivalent to previously examined spin chains in the one-excitation sector and in the absence of emitters. We introduce a Monte Carlo approach to the inverse eigenvalue problem which allows the determination of the inter-cavity and cavity-emitter couplings resulting in near-perfect quantum state transfer fidelity, and examine the time dependent polariton wave function through exact diagonalization of the resulting Tavis-Cummings-Hubbard Hamiltonian. The effect of inhomogeneous emitter locations is also evaluated.

preprint2022arXiv

Photoinduced enhancement of superconductivity in the plaquette Hubbard model

Real-time dynamics techniques have proven increasingly useful in understanding strongly correlated systems both theoretically and experimentally. By employing unbiased time-resolved exact diagonalization, we study pump dynamics in the two-dimensional plaquette Hubbard model, where distinct hopping integrals $t_h$ and $t_h^\prime$ are present within and between plaquettes. In the intermediate coupling regime, a significant enhancement of $d$-wave superconductivity is observed and compared with that obtained by simple examination of expectation values with the eigenstates of the Hamiltonian. Our work provides further understanding of superconductivity in the Hubbard model, extends the description of the pairing amplitude to the frequency-anisotropy plane, and offers a promising approach for experimentally engineering emergent out-of-equilibrium states.

preprint2021arXiv

Electron-Phonon Interactions in Flat Band Systems

Existing Quantum Monte Carlo studies have investigated the properties of fermions on a Lieb (CuO$_2$) lattice interacting with an on-site, or near-neighbor electron-electron coupling. Attention has focused on the interplay of such interactions with the macroscopic degeneracy of local zero energy modes, from which Bloch states can be formed to produce a flat band in which energy is independent of momentum. The resulting high density of states, in combination with the Stoner criterion, suggests that there should be pronounced instabilities to ordered phases. Indeed, a theorem by Lieb rigorously establishes the existence of ferrimagnetic order. Here we study the charge density wave phases induced by electron-phonon coupling on the Lieb lattice, as opposed to previous work on electron-electron interactions. Our key result is the demonstration of charge density wave (CDW) phases at one-third and two-thirds fillings, characterized by long-range density density correlations between doubly occupied sites on the minority or majority sublattice, and an accompanying gap. We also compute the transition temperature to the ordered phase as a function of the electron-phonon coupling.

preprint2021arXiv

Quantum Critical Points and the Sign Problem

The "sign problem" (SP) is the fundamental limitation to simulations of strongly correlated materials in condensed matter physics, solving quantum chromodynamics at finite baryon density, and computational studies of nuclear matter. As a result, it is part of the reason fields such as ultra-cold atomic physics are so exciting: they can provide quantum emulators of models that could not otherwise be solved, due to the SP. For the same reason, it is also one of the primary motivations behind quantum computation. It is often argued that the SP is not intrinsic to the physics of particular Hamiltonians, since the details of how it onsets, and its eventual occurrence, can be altered by the choice of algorithm or many-particle basis. Despite that, we show that the SP in determinant quantum Monte Carlo (DQMC) is quantitatively linked to quantum critical behavior. We demonstrate this via simulations of a number of fundamental models of condensed matter physics, including the spinful and spinless Hubbard Hamiltonians on a honeycomb lattice and the ionic Hubbard Hamiltonian, all of whose critical properties are relatively well understood. We then propose a reinterpretation of the low average sign for the Hubbard model on the square lattice when away from half-filling, an important open problem in condensed matter physics, in terms of the onset of pseudogap behavior and exotic superconductivity. Our study charts a path for exploiting the average sign in QMC simulations to understand quantum critical behavior, rather than solely as an obstacle that prevents quantum simulations of many-body Hamiltonians at low temperature.

preprint2021arXiv

Universal thermodynamics of an SU($N$) Fermi-Hubbard Model

The SU(2) symmetric Fermi-Hubbard model (FHM) plays an essential role in strongly correlated fermionic many-body systems. In the one particle per site and strongly interacting limit ${U/t \gg 1}$, it is effectively described by the Heisenberg Hamiltonian. In this limit, enlarging the spin and extending the typical SU(2) symmetry to SU($N$) has been predicted to give exotic phases of matter in the ground state, with a complicated dependence on $N$. This raises the question of what -- if any -- are the finite-temperature signatures of these phases, especially in the currently experimentally relevant regime near or above the superexchange energy. We explore this question for thermodynamic observables by numerically calculating the thermodynamics of the SU($N$) FHM in the two-dimensional square lattice near densities of one particle per site, using determinant Quantum Monte Carlo and Numerical Linked Cluster Expansion. Interestingly, we find that for temperatures above the superexchange energy, where the correlation length is short, the energy, number of on-site pairs, and kinetic energy are universal functions of $N$. Although the physics in the regime studied is well beyond what can be captured by low-order high-temperature series, we show that an analytic description of the scaling is possible in terms of only one- and two-site calculations.

preprint2020arXiv

Charge-Density Wave Order on a $π$-flux Square Lattice

The effect of electron-phonon coupling (EPC) on Dirac fermions has recently been explored numerically on a honeycomb lattice, leading to precise quantitative values for the finite temperature and quantum critical points. In this paper, we use the unbiased determinant Quantum Monte Carlo (DQMC) method to study the Holstein model on a half-filled staggered-flux square lattice, and compare with the honeycomb lattice geometry, presenting results for a range of phonon frequencies $0.1 \leqslant ω\leqslant 2.0$. We find that the interactions give rise to charge-density wave (CDW) order, but only above a finite coupling strength $λ_{\rm crit}$. The transition temperature is evaluated and presented in a $T_c$-$λ$ phase diagram. An accompanying mean-field theory (MFT) calculation also predicts the existence of quantum phase transition (QPT), but at a substantially smaller coupling strength.

preprint2020arXiv

Hybridization effect on the X-ray absorption spectra for actinide materials: Application to PuB$_4$

Studying the local moment and 5$f$-electron occupations sheds insight into the electronic behavior in actinide materials. X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) has been a powerful tool to reveal the valence electronic structure when assisted with theoretical calculations. However, the analysis currently taken in the community on the branching ratio of the XAS spectra generally does not account for the hybridization effects between local $f$-orbitals and conduction states. In this paper, we discuss an approach which employs the DFT+Gutzwiller rotationally-invariant slave boson (DFT+GRISB) method to obtain a local Hamiltonian for the single-impurity Anderson model (SIAM), and calculates the XAS spectra by the exact diagonalization (ED) method. A customized numerical routine was implemented for the ED XAS part of the calculation. By applying this technique to the recently discovered 5$f$-electron topological Kondo insulator PuB$_4$, we determined the signature of 5$f$-electronic correlation effects in the theoretical X-ray spectra. We found that the Pu 5$f$-6$d$ hybridization effect provides an extra channel to mix the $j=5/2$ and $7/2$ orbitals in the 5$f$ valence. As a consequence, the resulting electron occupation number and spin-orbit coupling strength deviate from the intermediate coupling regime.

preprint2020arXiv

Observation of antiferromagnetic correlations in an ultracold SU($N$) Hubbard model

Mott insulators are paradigms of strongly correlated physics, giving rise to phases of matter with novel and hard-to-explain properties. Extending the typical SU(2) symmetry of Mott insulators to SU($N$) is predicted to give exotic quantum magnetism at low temperatures, but understanding the effect of strong quantum fluctuations for large $N$ remains an open challenge. In this work, we experimentally observe nearest-neighbor spin correlations in the SU(6) Hubbard model realized by ytterbium atoms in optical lattices. We study one-dimensional, two-dimensional square, and three-dimensional cubic lattice geometries. The measured SU(6) spin correlations are dramatically enhanced compared to the SU(2) correlations, due to strong Pomeranchuk cooling. We also present numerical calculations based on exact diagonalization and determinantal quantum Monte Carlo. The experimental data for a one-dimensional lattice agree with theory, without any fitting parameters. The detailed comparison between theory and experiment allows us to infer from the measured correlations a lowest temperature of $\left[{0.096 \pm 0.054 \, \rm{(theory)} \pm 0.030 \, \rm{(experiment)}}\right]/k_{\rm B}$ times the tunneling amplitude. For two- and three-dimensional lattices, experiments reach entropies below where our calculations converge, highlighting the experiments as quantum simulations. These results open the door for the study of long-sought SU($N$) quantum magnetism.

preprint2020arXiv

Quantum Monte Carlo Simulations of the 2D Su-Schrieffer-Heeger Model

Over the last several years, a new generation of quantum simulations has greatly expanded our understanding of charge density wave phase transitions in Hamiltonians with coupling between local phonon modes and the on-site charge density. A quite different, and interesting, case is one in which the phonons live on the bonds, and hence modulate the electron hopping. This situation, described by the Su-Schrieffer-Heeger (SSH) Hamiltonian, has so far only been studied with quantum Monte Carlo in one dimension. Here we present results for the 2D SSH model, and show that a bond ordered wave (BOW) insulator is present in the ground state at half-filling, and argue that a critical value of the electron-phonon coupling is required for its onset, in contradistinction with the 1D case where BOW exists for any nonzero coupling. We determine the precise nature of the bond ordering pattern, which has hitherto been controversial, and the critical transition temperature, which is associated with a spontaneous breaking of ${\cal Z}_4$ symmetry.

preprint2019arXiv

Self-Organized Bosonic Domain Walls

Hardcore bosons on honeycomb lattice ribbons with zigzag edges are studied using exact numerical simulations. We map out the phase diagrams of ribbons with different widths, which contain superfluid and insulator phases at various fillings. We show that charge domain walls are energetically favorable, in sharp contrast to the more typical occupation of a set of sites on a single sublattice of the bipartite geometry at $ρ=\frac{1}{2}$ filling. This `self-organized domain wall' separates two charge-density-wave (CDW) regions with opposite Berry curvatures. Associated with the change of topological properties, superfluid transport occurs down the domain wall. Our results provide a concrete context to observe bosonic topological phenomena and can be simulated experimentally using bosonic cold atoms trapped in designed optical lattices.

preprint2016arXiv

Ferromagnetism beyond Lieb's theorem

The noninteracting electronic structures of tight binding models on bipartite lattices with unequal numbers of sites in the two sublattices have a number of unique features, including the presence of spatially localized eigenstates and flat bands. When a \emph{uniform} on-site Hubbard interaction $U$ is turned on, Lieb proved rigorously that at half filling ($ρ=1$) the ground state has a non-zero spin. In this paper we consider a `CuO$_2$ lattice (also known as `Lieb lattice', or as a decorated square lattice), in which `$d$-orbitals' occupy the vertices of the squares, while `$p$-orbitals' lie halfway between two $d$-orbitals. We use exact Determinant Quantum Monte Carlo (DQMC) simulations to quantify the nature of magnetic order through the behavior of correlation functions and sublattice magnetizations in the different orbitals as a function of $U$ and temperature. We study both the homogeneous (H) case, $U_d= U_p$, originally considered by Lieb, and the inhomogeneous (IH) case, $U_d\neq U_p$. For the H case at half filling, we found that the global magnetization rises sharply at weak coupling, and then stabilizes towards the strong-coupling (Heisenberg) value, as a result of the interplay between the ferromagnetism of like sites and the antiferromagnetism between unlike sites; we verified that the system is an insulator for all $U$. For the IH system at half filling, we argue that the case $U_p\neq U_d$ falls under Lieb's theorem, provided they are positive definite, so we used DQMC to probe the cases $U_p=0,U_d=U$ and $U_p=U, U_d=0$. We found that the different environments of $d$ and $p$ sites lead to a ferromagnetic insulator when $U_d=0$; by contrast, $U_p=0$ leads to to a metal without any magnetic ordering. In addition, we have also established that at density $ρ=1/3$, strong antiferromagnetic correlations set in, caused by the presence of one fermion on each $d$ site.

preprint2016arXiv

Impurity-Induced Antiferromagnetic Domains in the Periodic Anderson Model

A central feature of the Periodic Anderson Model is the competition between antiferromagnetism, mediated by the Ruderman-Kittel-Kasuya-Yosida interaction at small conduction electron-local electron hybridization $V$, and singlet formation at large $V$. At zero temperature, and in dimension $d>1$, these two phases are separated by a quantum critical point $V_c$. We use Quantum Monte Carlo simulations to explore the effect of impurities which have a local hybridization $V_{*} < V_c$ in the AF regime which are embedded in a bulk singlet phase with $V > V_c$. We measure the suppression of singlet correlations and the antiferromagnetic correlations which form around the impurity, as well as the size of the resulting domain. Our calculations agree qualitatively with NMR measurements in CeCoIn$_{5-x}$Cd$_x$.

preprint2016arXiv

Superconductivity and Nematic Fluctuations in a model of FeSe monolayers: A Determinant Quantum Monte Carlo Study

In contrast to bulk FeSe, which exhibits nematic order and low temperature superconductivity, atomic layers of FeSe reverse the situation, having high temperature superconductivity appearing alongside a suppression of nematic order. To investigate this phenomenon, we study a minimal electronic model of FeSe, with interactions that enhance nematic fluctuations. This model is sign problem free, and is simulated using determinant quantum Monte Carlo (DQMC). We developed a DQMC algorithm with parallel tempering, which proves to be an efficient source of global updates and allows us to access the region of strong interactions. Over a wide range of intermediate couplings, we observe superconductivity with an extended s-wave order parameter, along with enhanced, but short ranged, $q=(0,0)$ ferro-orbital (nematic) order. These results are consistent with approximate weak coupling treatments that predict that nematic fluctuations lead to superconducting pairing. Surprisingly, in the parameter range under study, we do not observe nematic long range order. Instead, at stronger coupling an unusual insulating phase with $q=(π,π)$ antiferro-orbital order appears, which is missed by weak coupling approximations.

preprint2015arXiv

Competing exotic quantum phases of spin-$1/2$ ultra-cold lattice bosons with extended spin interactions

Advances in pure optical trapping techniques now allow the creation of degenerate Bose gases with internal degrees of freedom. Systems such as ${}^{87}$Rb, $^{39}$K or ${}^{23}$Na in the $F=1$ hyperfine state offer an ideal platform for studying the interplay of superfluidity and quantum magnetism. Motivated by the experimental developments, we study ground state phases of a two-component Bose gas loaded on an optical lattice. The system is described effectively by the Bose-Hubbard Hamiltonian with onsite and near neighbor spin-spin interactions. An important feature of our investigation is the inclusion of interconversion (spin flip) terms between the two species, which has been observed in optical lattice experiments. Using mean-field theory and quantum Monte Carlo simulations, we map out the phase diagram of the system. A rich variety of phases is identified, including antiferromagnetic (AF) Mott insulators, ferromagnetic and AF superfluids.

preprint2015arXiv

Compressibility of a fermionic Mott insulator of ultracold atoms

We characterize the Mott insulating regime of a repulsively interacting Fermi gas of ultracold atoms in a three-dimensional optical lattice. We use in-situ imaging to extract the central density of the gas, and to determine its local compressibility. For intermediate to strong interactions, we observe the emergence of a plateau in the density as a function of atom number, and a reduction of the compressibility at a density of one atom per site, indicating the formation of a Mott insulator. Comparisons to state-of-the-art numerical simulations of the Hubbard model over a wide range of interactions reveal that the temperature of the gas is of the order of, or below, the tunneling energy scale. Our results hold great promise for the exploration of many-body phenomena with ultracold atoms, where the local compressibility can be a useful tool to detect signatures of different phases or phase boundaries at specific values of the filling.

preprint2015arXiv

Cooling Atomic Gases With Disorder

Cold atomic gases have proven capable of emulating a number of fundamental condensed matter phenomena including Bose-Einstein condensation, the Mott transition, Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov pairing and the quantum Hall effect. Cooling to a low enough temperature to explore magnetism and exotic superconductivity in lattices of fermionic atoms remains a challenge. We propose a method to produce a low temperature gas by preparing it in a disordered potential and following a constant entropy trajectory to deliver the gas into a non-disordered state which exhibits these incompletely understood phases. We show, using quantum Monte Carlo simulations, that we can approach the Neél temperature of the three-dimensional Hubbard model for experimentally achievable parameters. Recent experimental estimates suggest the randomness required lies in a regime where atom transport and equilibration are still robust.

preprint2015arXiv

Finite-temperature superconducting correlations of the Hubbard model

We utilize numerical linked-cluster expansions (NLCEs) and the determinantal quantum Monte Carlo algorithm to study pairing correlations in the square lattice Hubbard model. To benchmark the NLCE, we first locate the finite-temperature phase transition of the attractive model to a superconducting state away from half filling. We then explore the superconducting properties of the repulsive model for the d-wave and extended s-wave pairing symmetries. The pairing structure factor shows a strong tendency to d-wave pairing and peaks at an interaction strength comparable to the bandwidth. The extended s-wave structure factor and correlation length are larger at higher temperatures but clearly saturate as temperature is lowered, whereas the d-wave counterparts, which start off lower at high temperatures, continue to rise near half filling. This rise is even more dramatic in the d-wave susceptibility. The convergence of NLCEs breaks down as the susceptibilities and correlation lengths become large, so we are unable to determine the onset of long-range order. However, our results extend the conclusion, previously restricted to only magnetic and charge correlations, that NLCEs offer unique window into pairing in the Hubbard model at strong coupling.

preprint2015arXiv

Observation of antiferromagnetic correlations in the Hubbard model with ultracold atoms

Ultracold atoms in optical lattices have great potential to contribute to a better understanding of some of the most important issues in many-body physics, such as high-$T_c$ superconductivity. The Hubbard model describes many of the features shared by the copper oxides, including an interaction-driven Mott insulating state and an antiferromagnetic (AFM) state. Optical lattices filled with a two-spin-component Fermi gas of ultracold atoms can faithfully realise the Hubbard model with readily tunable parameters, and thus provide a platform for the systematic exploration of its phase diagram. Realisation of strongly correlated phases, however, has been hindered by the need to cool the atoms to temperatures as low as the magnetic exchange energy, and also by the lack of reliable thermometry. Here we demonstrate spin-sensitive Bragg scattering of light to measure AFM spin correlations in a realisation of the 3D Hubbard model at temperatures down to 1.4 times that of the AFM phase transition. This temperature regime is beyond the range of validity of a simple high-temperature series expansion, which brings our experiment close to the limit of the capabilities of current numerical techniques. We reach these low temperatures using a unique compensated optical lattice technique, in which the confinement of each lattice beam is compensated by a blue-detuned laser beam. The temperature of the atoms in the lattice is deduced by comparing the light scattering to determinantal quantum Monte Carlo and numerical linked-cluster expansion calculations. Further refinement of the compensated lattice may produce even lower temperatures which, along with light scattering thermometry, would open avenues for achieving and characterising other novel quantum states of matter, such as the pseudogap regime of the 2D Hubbard model.

preprint2014arXiv

Entanglement properties of the antiferromagnetic-singlet transition in the Hubbard model on bilayer square lattices

We calculate the bipartite \Renyi entanglement entropy of an $L\times L\times 2$ bilayer Hubbard model using a determinantal quantum Monte Carlo method recently proposed by Grover [Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 111}, 130402 (2013)]. Two types of bipartition are studied: (i) One that divides the lattice into two $L \times L$ planes, and (ii) One that divides the lattice into two equal-size ($L\times L/2\times 2$) bilayers. We compare our calculations with those for the tight-binding model studied by the correlation matrix method. As expected, the entropy for bipartition (i) scales as $L^2$, while the latter scales with $L$ with possible logarithmic corrections. The onset of the antiferromagnet to singlet transition shows up by a saturation of the former to a maximal value and the latter to a small value in the singlet phase. We comment on the large uncertainties in the numerical results with increasing $U$, which would have to be overcome before the critical behavior and logarithmic corrections can be quantified.

preprint2014arXiv

Magnetic correlations and pairing in the 1/5-depleted square lattice Hubbard model

We study the single-orbital Hubbard model on the 1/5-depleted square lattice geometry, which arises in such diverse systems as the spin-gap magnetic insulator CaV4O9 and ordered-vacancy iron selenides, presenting new issues regarding the origin of both magnetic ordering and superconductivity in these materials. We find a rich phase diagram that includes a plaquette singlet phase, a dimer singlet phase, a Neel and a block-spin antiferromagnetic phase, and stripe phases. Quantum Monte Carlo simulations show that the dominant pairing correlations at half filling change character from d-wave in the plaquette phase to extended s-wave upon transition to the Neel phase. These findings have intriguing connections to iron-based superconductors, and suggest that some physics of multiorbital systems can be captured by a single-orbital model at different dopings.

preprint2014arXiv

Universal Knight shift anomaly in the Periodic Anderson model

We report a Determinant Quantum Monte Carlo investigation which quantifies the behavior of the susceptibility and the entropy in the framework of the periodic Anderson model (PAM), focussing on the evolution with different degree of conduction electron (c) -local moment (f) hybridization. These results capture the behavior observed in several experiments, including the universal behavior of the NMR Knight shift anomaly below the crossover temperature, $T^{\ast}$. We find that $T^{\ast}$ is a measure of the onset of c-f correlations and grows with increasing hybridization. These results suggest that the NMR Knight shift and spin-lattice relaxation rate measurements in non-Fermi liquid materials are strongly influenced by temperature-dependent hybridization processes. Our results provide a microscopic basis for the phenomenological two-fluid model of Kondo lattice behavior, and its evolution with pressure and temperature.

preprint2013arXiv

Discriminating antiferromagnetic signatures in ultracold fermions by tunable geometric frustration

Recently, it has become possible to tune optical lattices continuously between square and triangular geometries. We compute thermodynamics and spin correlations in the corresponding Hubbard model using determinant quantum Monte Carlo and show that the frustration effects induced by the variable hopping terms can be clearly separated from concomitant bandwidth changes by a proper rescaling of the interaction. An enhancement of the double occupancy by geometric frustration signals the destruction of nontrivial antiferromagnetic correlations at weak coupling and entropy $s\lesssim \ln(2)$ (and restores Pomeranchuk cooling at strong frustration), paving the way to the long-sought experimental detection of antiferromagnetism in ultracold fermions on optical lattices.

preprint2013arXiv

Finite f-Electron Bandwidth in a Heavy Fermion Model

Determinant Quantum Monte Carlo (DQMC) is used to study the effect of non-zero hopping t_f in the localized f-band of the periodic Anderson model (PAM) in two dimensions. The low temperature properties are determined in the plane of interband hybridization V and t_f at fixed U_f and half-filling, including the case when the sign of t_f is opposite to that of the conduction band t_d. For t_f and t_d of the same sign, and when t_f=t_d > (V =4_td)^2, the non-interacting system is metallic. We show that a remnant of the band insulator to metal line at U_f = 0 persists in the interacting system, manifesting itself as a maximal tendency toward antiferromagnetic correlations at low temperature. In this optimal t_f region, short range (e.g. near-neighbor) and long-range spin correlations develop at similar temperatures and have comparable magnitude. Both observations are in stark contrast with the situation in the widely studied PAM (t_f = 0) and single band Hubbard model, where short range correlations are stronger and develop at higher temperature. The effect that finite t_f has on Kondo screening is investigated by considering the evolution of the local density of states for selected t_f as a function of V . We use mean field theory as a tool to discriminate those aspects of the physics that are genuinely many-body in character.

preprint2013arXiv

Interplay of Superconductivity and Spin-Dependent Disorder

The finite temperature phase diagram for the 2D attractive fermion Hubbard model with spin-dependent disorder is considered within Bogoliubov-de Gennes mean field theory. Three types of disorder are studied. In the first, only one species is coupled to a random site energy; in the second, the two species both move in random site energy landscapes which are of the same amplitude, but different realizations; and finally, in the third, the disorder is in the hopping rather than the site energy. For all three cases we find that, unlike the case of spin-symmetric randomness, where the energy gap and average order parameter do not vanish as the disorder strength increases, a critical disorder strength exists separating distinct phases. In fact, the energy gap and the average order parameter vanish at distinct transitions, $V_{c}^{\rm gap}$ and $V_{c}^{\rm op}$, allowing for a gapless superconducting (gSC) phase. The gSC phase becomes smaller with increasing temperature, until it vanishes at a temperature $T^{\ast}$.

preprint2012arXiv

Pairing Correlations in the two-layer attractive Hubbard Model

Studies of systems with two fermionic bands with repulsive interaction strength U have a long history, with the Periodic Anderson Model (PAM) being one of the most frequently considered Hamiltonians. In this paper, we use Quantum Monte Carlo to study analogous issues for attractive interactions. As in the Periodic Anderson Model, we focus on a case where one band is uncorrelated (U=0), and focus on the effect of hybridization V between the bands on the pairing correlations. A key difference with the PAM is that there is no sign problem, so that we are able to explore the physics of doped multi-band attractive systems at low temperatures whereas ground state properties of repulsive models can be determined only at half-filling. For small V, pairing in the U<0 layer induces pairing in the U=0 layer. At larger V the ground state of the coupled system loses its superconducting character. The Quantum Monte Carlo data are complemented by results obtained with the Bogoliubov-de Gennes approximation.

preprint2012arXiv

Quantum disordered phase near the Mott transition in the staggered-flux Hubbard model on a square lattice

We investigate ground state properties of the half-filled staggered-flux Hubbard model on a square lattice. Energy gaps to charge and spin excitations and magnetic as well as dimer orders are calculated as a function of interaction strength $U/t$ by means of constrained-path quantum Monte Carlo method. It is found that the system is a semi-metal at $U/t\lesssim 5.6$ and a Mott insulator with long-range antiferromagnetic order at $U/t \gtrsim 6.6$. In the range $5.6\lesssim U/t\lesssim 6.6$, the ground state is an correlated insulator where both magnetic and dimer orders are absent. Furthermore, spin excitation in the intermediate phase appears to be gapless, and the measured spin-spin correlation function exhibits power-law decaying behavior. The data suggest that the non-magnetic ground state is a possible candidate for the putative algebraic spin liquid.

preprint2011arXiv

Fermions in 3D Optical Lattices: Cooling Protocol to Obtain Antiferromagnetism

A major challenge in realizing antiferromagnetic (AF) and superfluid phases in optical lattices is the ability to cool fermions. We determine the equation of state for the 3D repulsive Fermi-Hubbard model as a function of the chemical potential, temperature and repulsion using unbiased determinantal quantum Monte Carlo methods, and we then use the local density approximation to model a harmonic trap. We show that increasing repulsion leads to cooling, but only in a trap, due to the redistribution of entropy from the center to the metallic wings. Thus, even when the average entropy per particle is larger than that required for antiferromagnetism in the homogeneous system, the trap enables the formation of an AF Mott phase.

preprint2011arXiv

Magnetism and pairing of two-dimensional trapped fermions

The emergence of local phases in a trapped two-component Fermi gas in an optical lattice is studied using quantum Monte Carlo simulations. We treat temperatures that are comparable or lower than those presently achievable in experiments and large enough systems that both magnetic and paired phases can be detected by inspection of the behavior of suitable short-range correlations. We use the latter to suggest the interaction strength and temperature range at which experimental observation of incipient magnetism and d-wave pairing are more likely and evaluate the relation between entropy and temperature in two-dimensional confined fermionic systems.

preprint2011arXiv

The response to dynamical modulation of the optical lattice for fermions in the Hubbard model

Fermionic atoms in a periodic optical lattice provide a realization of the single-band Hubbard model. Using Quantum Monte Carlo simulations along with the Maximum Entropy Method, we evaluate the effect of a time-dependent perturbative modulation of the optical lattice amplitude on atomic correlations, revealed in the fraction of doubly-occupied sites. Our treatment extends previous approaches which neglected the time dependence of the on-site interaction, and shows that this term changes the results in a quantitatively significant way. The effect of modulation depends strongly on the filling-- the response of the double occupation is significantly different in the half-filled Mott insulator from the doped Fermi liquid region.

preprint2011arXiv

Universality class of quantum criticality in the two-dimensional Hubbard model at intermediate temperatures ($t^2/U\ll T\ll t$)

We show that the dilute Fermi gas quantum critical universality class quantitatively describes the Mott/metal crossover of the two-dimensional Hubbard model for temperatures somewhat less than (roughly half) the tunneling but much greater than (roughly twice) the superexchange energy. We calculate the observables expected to be universal near the transition --- density and compressibility --- with numerically exact determinantal quantum Monte Carlo. We find they are universal functions of the chemical potential. Despite arising from the strongly correlated regime of the Hubbard model, these functions are given by the weakly interacting, dilute Fermi gas model. These observables and their derivatives are the only expected universal static observables of this universality class, which we also confirm by verifying there is no scaling collapse of the kinetic energy, fraction of doubly occupied sites, and nearest neighbor spin correlations. Our work resolves the universality class of the intermediate temperature Mott/metal crossover, which had alternatively been proposed to be described by more exotic theories. However, in the presence of a Zeeman magnetic field, we find that interplay of spin with itinerant charge can lead to physics beyond the dilute Fermi gas universality class.

preprint2009arXiv

Determinant Quantum Monte Carlo Study of the Orbitally Selective Mott Transition

We study the conductivity, density of states, and magnetic correlations of a two dimensional, two band fermion Hubbard model using determinant Quantum Monte Carlo (DQMC) simulations. We show that an orbitally selective Mott transition (OSMT) occurs in which the more weakly interacting band can be metallic despite complete localization of the strongly interacting band. The DQMC method allows us to test the validity of the use of a momentum independent self-energy which has been a central approximation in previous OSMT studies. In addition, we show that long range antiferromagnetic order (LRAFO) is established in the insulating phase, similar to the single band, square lattice Hubbard Hamiltonian. Because the critical interaction strengths for the onset of insulating behavior are much less than the bandwidth of the itinerant orbital, we suggest that the development of LRAFO plays a key role in the transitions.

preprint1998arXiv

The Phase Diagram of Disordered Vortices from London Langevin Simulations

We study the phase diagram of vortex matter in disordered type-II superconductors. We performed numerical simulations in the London Langevin approximation, using a new realistic representation of the disorder. At low magnetic fields we find a disentangled and dislocation free Bragg-glass regime. Increasing the field introduces disorder-driven entanglement in a discontinuous manner, leading to a vortex-glass phase, which subsequently melts into the vortex liquid. The obtained phase boundaries are in quantitative agreement with the experimental data.

preprint1996arXiv

Theory for Quantum Spin and Vortex Glasses

We develop a theory for the quantum vortex glass, with both the coupling strengths and the site energies disordered. This model is closely related to XY spin glasses and bosons in random media. For properly chosen distributions of the site disorder the phase diagram consists of a superfluid phase, and Weak and Strong Glass regions, dominated by long range and local fluctuations, respectively. The most direct experimental manifestation of the Strong Glass transition is the lack of divergence of the corresponding non-linear susceptibility.