Weak phase separation and the pseudogap in the electron-doped cuprates

We study the quantum transition from an antiferromagnet to a superconductor in a model for electron- and hole-doped cuprates by means of a variational cluster perturbation theory approach. In both cases, our results suggest a tendency towards phase separation between a mixed antiferromagnetic-superconducting phase at low doping and a pure superconducting phase at larger doping. However, in the electron-doped case the energy scale for phase separation is an order of magnitude smaller than for hole doping. We argue that this can explain the different pseudogap and superconducting transition scales in hole- and electron-doped materials.Comment: Final version, accepted for publication in Europhysics Letter

Dynamical critical exponent of the Jaynes-Cummings-Hubbard model

An array of high-Q electromagnetic resonators coupled to qubits gives rise to the Jaynes-Cummings-Hubbard model describing a superfluid to Mott insulator transition of lattice polaritons. From mean-field and strong coupling expansions, the critical properties of the model are expected to be identical to the scalar Bose-Hubbard model. A recent Monte Carlo study of the superfluid density on the square lattice suggested that this does not hold for the fixed-density transition through the Mott lobe tip. Instead, mean-field behavior with a dynamical critical exponent z=2 was found. We perform large-scale quantum Monte Carlo simulations to investigate the critical behavior of the superfluid density and the compressibility. We find z=1 at the tip of the insulating lobe. Hence the transition falls in the 3D XY universality class, analogous to the Bose-Hubbard model.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures. To appear as a Rapid Communication in Phys. Rev.

Phase separation and competition of superconductivity and magnetism in the two-dimensional Hubbard model: From strong to weak coupling

Cooperation and competition between the antiferromagnetic, d-wave superconducting and Mott-insulating states are explored for the two-dimensional Hubbard model including nearest and next-nearest-neighbor hoppings at zero temperature. Using the variational cluster approach with clusters of different shapes and sizes up to 10 sites, it is found that the doping-driven transition from a phase with microscopic coexistence of antiferromagnetism and superconductivity to a purely superconducting phase is discontinuous for strong interaction and accompanied by phase separation. At half-filling the system is in an antiferromagnetic Mott-insulating state with vanishing charge compressibility. Upon decreasing the interaction strength U below a certain critical value of roughly U=4 (in units of the nearest-neighbor hopping), however, the filling-dependent magnetic transition changes its character and becomes continuous. Phase separation or, more carefully, the tendency towards the formation of inhomogeneous states disappears. This critical value is in contrast to previous studies, where a much larger value was obtained. Moreover, we find that the system at half-filling undergoes the Mott transition from an insulator to a state with a finite charge compressibility at essentially the same value. The weakly correlated state at half-filling exhibits superconductivity microscopically admixed to the antiferromagnetic order. This scenario suggests a close relation between phase separation and the Mott-insulator physics.Comment: 7 pages, 8 figures, revised version to be published in Phys. Rev.

Quantum Confinement Induced Metal-Insulator Transition in Strongly Correlated Quantum Wells of SrVO3_3 Superlattice

Dynamical mean-field theory (DMFT) has been employed in conjunction with density functional theory (DFT+DMFT) to investigate the metal-insulator transition (MIT) of strongly correlated $3d$ electrons due to quantum confinement. We shed new light on the microscopic mechanism of the MIT and previously reported anomalous subband mass enhancement, both of which arise as a direct consequence of the quantization of V $xz(yz)$ states in the SrVO$_3$ layers. We therefore show that quantum confinement can sensitively tune the strength of electron correlations, leading the way to applying such approaches in other correlated materials

Origin of the high Neel temperature in SrTcO3

We investigate the origin of the high Neel temperature recently found in Tc perovskites. The electronic structure in the magnetic state of SrTcO3 and its 3d analogue SrMnO3 is calculated within a framework combining band-structure and many-body methods. In agreement with experiment, the Neel temperature of SrTcO3 is found to be four times larger than that of SrMnO3. We show that this is because the Tc-compound lies on the verge of the itinerant-to-localized transition, and also has a larger bandwidth, while the Mn-compound lies deeper into the localized side. For SrTcO3 we predict that the Neel temperature depends weakly on applied pressure, in clear violation of Bloch's rule, signaling the complete breakdown of the localized picture.Comment: 4+ pages, 3 figures, published versio