Dynamical Mean-Field Theory

The dynamical mean-field theory (DMFT) is a widely applicable approximation scheme for the investigation of correlated quantum many-particle systems on a lattice, e.g., electrons in solids and cold atoms in optical lattices. In particular, the combination of the DMFT with conventional methods for the calculation of electronic band structures has led to a powerful numerical approach which allows one to explore the properties of correlated materials. In this introductory article we discuss the foundations of the DMFT, derive the underlying self-consistency equations, and present several applications which have provided important insights into the properties of correlated matter.Comment: Chapter in "Theoretical Methods for Strongly Correlated Systems", edited by A. Avella and F. Mancini, Springer (2011), 31 pages, 5 figure

Infinite single-particle bandwidth of a Mott-Hubbard insulator

The conventional viewpoint of the strongly correlated electron metal-insulator transition is that a single band splits into two upper and lower Hubbard bands at the transition. Much work has investigated whether this transition is continuous or discontinuous. Here we focus on another aspect and ask the question of whether there are additional upper and lower Hubbard bands, which stretch all the way out to infinity - leading to an infinite single-particle bandwidth (or spectral range) for the Mott insulator. While we are not able to provide a rigorous proof of this result, we use exact diagonalization studies on small clusters to motivate the existence of these additional bands, and we discuss some different methods that might be utilized to provide such a proof. Even though the extra upper and lower Hubbard bands have very low total spectral weight, those states are expected to have extremely long lifetimes, leading to a nontrivial contribution to the transport density of states for dc transport and modifying the high temperature limit for the electrical resistivity