Insulator to superfluid transition in coupled photonic cavities in two dimensions

A system of coupled photonic cavities on a two-dimensional square lattice is systematically investigated using the stochastic series expansion quantum Monte Carlo method. The ground state phase diagram contains insulating phases with integer polariton densities surrounded by a superfluid phase. The finite-size scaling of the superfluid density is used to determine the phase boundaries accurately. We find that the critical behavior is that of the generic, density-driven Mott-superfluid transition with dynamic exponent z=2, with no special multicritical points with z=1 at the tips of the insulating-phase lobes (as exist in the case of the Bose-Hubbard model). This demonstrates a limitation of the description of polaritons as structureless bosons.First author draf

Ground-state phase diagram of an anisotropic spin-1/21/2 model on the triangular lattice

Motivated by the recent experiment on a rare-earth material YbMgGaO$_4$ [Y. Li \textit{et al.}, Phys. Rev. Lett. \textbf{115}, 167203 (2015)], which found that the ground state of YbMgGaO$_4$ is a quantum spin liquid, we study the ground-state phase diagram of an anisotropic spin-$1/2$ model that was proposed to describe YbMgGaO$_4$. Using the density-matrix renormalization group method in combination with the exact diagonalization, we calculate a variety of physical quantities, including the ground-state energy, the fidelity, the entanglement entropy and spin-spin correlation functions. Our studies show that in the quantum phase diagram there is a $120^{\circ}$ phase and two distinct stripe phases. The transitions from the two stripe phases to the $120^{\circ}$ phase are of the first order. However, the transition between the two stripe phases is not the first order, which is different from its classical counterpart. Additionally, we find no evidence for a quantum spin liquid in this model. Our results suggest that additional terms may be also important to model the material YbMgGaO$_4$. These findings will stimulate further experimental and theoretical works in understanding the quantum spin liquid ground state in YbMgGaO$_4$.Comment: minor change

The evolution of magnetic structure driven by a synthetic spin-orbit coupling in two-component Bose-Hubbard model

We study the evolution of magnetic structure driven by a synthetic spin-orbit coupling in a one-dimensional two-component Bose-Hubbard model. In addition to the Mott insulator-superfluid transition, we found in Mott insulator phases a transition from a gapped ferromagnetic phase to a gapless chiral phase by increasing the strength of spin-orbit coupling. Further increasing the spin-orbit coupling drives a transition from the gapless chiral phase to a gapped antiferromagnetic phase. These magnetic structures persist in superfluid phases. In particular, in the chiral Mott insulator and chiral superfluid phases, incommensurability is observed in characteristic correlation functions. These unconventional Mott insulator phase and superfluid phase demonstrate the novel effects arising from the competition between the kinetic energy and the spin-orbit coupling.Comment: 9 fig; English polished, note adde

Ground-state phase diagram of the frustrated spin-1/2 two-leg honeycomb ladder

We investigate a spin-$1/2$ two-leg honeycomb ladder with frustrating next-nearest-neighbor (NNN) coupling along the legs, which is equivalent to two $J_1$-$J_2$ spin chains coupled with $J_\perp$ at odd rungs. The full parameter region of the model is systematically studied using conventional and infinite density-matrix renormalization group as well as bosonization. The rich phase diagram consists of five distinct phases: A Haldane phase, a NNN-Haldane phase and a staggered dimer phase when $J_{\perp} < 0$; a rung singlet phase and a columnar dimer phase when $J_{\perp} > 0$. An interesting reentrant behavior from the dimerized phase into the Haldane phase is found as the frustration $J_2$ increases. The universalities of the critical phase transitions are fully analyzed. Phase transitions between dimerized and disordered phases belong to the two-dimensional Ising class with central charge $c=1/2$. The transition from the Haldane phase to NNN-Haldane phase is of a weak topological first order, while the continuous transition between the Haldane phase and rung singlet phase has central charge $c=2$.Comment: 14 pages, 17 figures, for latest version and additional information see https://www.physik.uni-kl.de/eggert/papers/index.htm

Hund-Heisenberg model in superconducting infinite-layer nickelates

We theoretically investigate the unconventional superconductivity in the newly discovered infinite-layer nickelates Nd$_{1-x}$Sr$_{x}$NiO$_{2}$ based on a two-band model. By analyzing the transport experiments, we propose that the doped holes dominantly enter the Ni $d_{xy}$ or/and $d_{3z^{2}-r^{2}}$ orbitals as charged carriers, and form a conducting band. Via the onsite Hund coupling, the doped holes are coupled to the Ni localized holes in the $d_{x^{2}-y^{2}}$ orbital band. We demonstrate that this two-band model could be further reduced to a Hund-Heisenberg model. Using the reduced model, we show the non-Fermi liquid state above the critical $T_{c}$ could stem from the carriers coupled to the spin fluctuations of the localized holes. In the superconducting phase, the short-range spin fluctuations mediate the carriers into Cooper pairs and establish $d_{x^{2}-y^{2}}$-wave superconductivity. We further predict that the doped holes ferromagnetically coupled with the local magnetic moments remain itinerant even at very low temperature, and thus the pseudogap hardly emerges in nickelates. Our work provides a new superconductivity mechanism for strongly correlated multi-orbital systems and paves a distinct way to exploring new superconductors in transition or rare-earth metal oxides.Comment: the paper was expanded, 7 pages, 1 figur