Two-dimensional Holstein-Hubbard model: Critical temperature, Ising universality, and bipolaron liquid

The two-dimensional Holstein-Hubbard model is studied by means of continuous-time quantum Monte Carlo simulations. Using renormalization-group-invariant correlation ratios and finite-size extrapolation, the critical temperature of the charge-density-wave transition is determined as a function of coupling strength, phonon frequency, and Hubbard repulsion. The phase transition is demonstrated to be in the universality class of the two-dimensional Ising model and detectable via the fidelity susceptibility. The structure of the ground-state phase diagram and the possibility of a bipolaronic metal with a single-particle gap above $T_c$ are explored.Comment: 8 pages, 9 figures; expanded version including Holstein-Hubbard result

Correlated atomic wires on substrates. II. Application to Hubbard wires

In the first part of our theoretical study of correlated atomic wires on substrates, we introduced lattice models for a one-dimensional quantum wire on a three-dimensional substrate and their approximation by quasi-one-dimensional effective ladder models [arXiv:1704.07350]. In this second part, we apply this approach to the case of a correlated wire with a Hubbard-type electron-electron repulsion deposited on an insulating substrate. The ground-state and spectral properties are investigated numerically using the density-matrix renormalization group method and quantum Monte Carlo simulations. As a function of the model parameters, we observe various phases with quasi-one-dimensional low-energy excitations localized in the wire, namely paramagnetic Mott insulators, Luttinger liquids, and spin-$1/2$ Heisenberg chains. The validity of the effective ladder models is assessed by studying the convergence with the number of legs and comparing to the full three-dimensional model. We find that narrow ladder models accurately reproduce the quasi-one-dimensional excitations of the full three-dimensional model but predict only qualitatively whether excitations are localized around the wire or delocalized in the three-dimensional substrate

Ground-state and spectral properties of an asymmetric Hubbard ladder

We investigate a ladder system with two inequivalent legs, namely a Hubbard chain and a one-dimensional electron gas. Analytical approximations, the density matrix renormalization group method, and continuous-time quantum Monte Carlo simulations are used to determine ground-state properties, gaps, and spectral functions of this system at half-filling. Evidence for the existence of four different phases as a function of the Hubbard interaction and the rung hopping is presented. First, a Luttinger liquid exists at very weak interchain hopping. Second, a Kondo-Mott insulator with spin and charge gaps induced by an effective rung exchange coupling is found at moderate interchain hopping or strong Hubbard interaction. Third, a spin-gapped paramagnetic Mott insulator with incommensurate excitations and pairing of doped charges is observed at intermediate values of the rung hopping and the interaction. Fourth, the usual correlated band insulator is recovered for large rung hopping. We show that the wavenumbers of the lowest single-particle excitations are different in each insulating phase. In particular, the three gapped phases exhibit markedly different spectral functions. We discuss the relevance of asymmetric two-leg ladder systems as models for atomic wires deposited on a substrate.Comment: published versio

Continuous-time quantum Monte Carlo for fermion-boson lattice models: Improved bosonic estimators and application to the Holstein model

We extend the continuous-time interaction-expansion quantum Monte Carlo method with respect to measuring observables for fermion-boson lattice models. Using generating functionals, we express expectation values involving boson operators, which are not directly accessible because simulations are done in terms of a purely fermionic action, as integrals over fermionic correlation functions. We also demonstrate that certain observables can be inferred directly from the vertex distribution, and present efficient estimators for the total energy and the phonon propagator of the Holstein model. Furthermore, we generalize the covariance estimator of the fidelity susceptibility, an unbiased diagnostic for phase transitions, to the case of retarded interactions. The new estimators are applied to half-filled spinless and spinful Holstein models in one dimension. The observed renormalization of the phonon mode across the Peierls transition in the spinless model suggests a soft-mode transition in the adiabatic regime. The critical point is associated with a minimum in the phonon kinetic energy and a maximum in the fidelity susceptibility.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures, 1 table; final versio