Mott transition in kagomé lattice Hubbard model

We investigate the Mott transition in the kagomé lattice Hubbard model using a cluster extension of dynamical mean field theory. The calculation of the double occupancy, the density of states, and the static and dynamical spin correlation functions demonstrates that the system undergoes the first-order Mott transition at the Hubbard interaction U/W approximately 1.4 (W:bandwidth). In the metallic phase close to the Mott transition, we find the strong renormalization of three distinct bands, giving rise to the formation of heavy quasiparticles with strong frustrated interactions. It is elucidated that the quasiparticle states exhibit anomalous behavior in the temperature-dependent spin correlation functions.     

Quantum phase transition of ultracold bosons in double-well optical lattices

We study the superfluid-to-Mott insulator transition of bosons in a two-legged ladder optical lattice of a type accessible in current experiments on double-well optical lattices. The zero-temperature phase diagram is mapped out, with a focus on its dependence upon interchain hopping and the tilt between double wells. We find that the unit-filling Mott phase exhibits a nonmonotonic behavior as a function of the tilt parameter, producing a reentrant phase transition between the Mott insulator and superfluid phases.     

Orbital-selective mott transitions in the degenerate Hubbard model

We investigate the Mott transitions in two-band Hubbard models with different bandwidths. Applying dynamical mean field theory, we discuss the stability of itinerant quasiparticle states in each band. We demonstrate that separate Mott transitions occur at different Coulomb interaction strengths in general, which merge to a single transition only under special conditions. This kind of behavior may be relevant for the physics of the single-layer ruthenates, Ca2-xSrxRuO4.     

Compressibility divergence and the finite temperature Mott transition

In the context of the dynamical mean-field theory (DMFT) of the Hubbard model, we study the behavior of the compressibility near the density driven Mott transition at finite temperatures. We demonstrate this divergence using DMFT and quantum Monte Carlo simulations in the one-band and the two-band Hubbard model. We supplement this result with considerations based on the Landau theory framework, and discuss the relevance of our results to the alpha-gamma end point in cerium.     

Single-particle spectral function of the Hubbard chain: frustration induced

The one-electron spectral function of a frustrated Hubbard chain is computed by making use of the cluster perturbation theory. The spectral weight we found turns out to be strongly dependent on the frustrating next-nearest-neighbor hopping t'. A frustration induced pseudogap arises when the system evolves from a gapful Mott insulator to a gapless conductor for an intermediate value of the frustration parameter |t'|. Furthermore, the opening of a pseudogap in the density of states already in the metallic side leads to a continuous opening of the true gap in the insulator. For the hole-doped case, the pseudogap is pinned at the Fermi energy, while the Mott gap is shifted in energy with increasing Hubbard interaction U. The separation of the pseudogap and Mott gap in the hole-doped system demonstrates the validity of the existence of a pseudogap.     

Mott domains of bosons confined on optical lattices

In the absence of a confining potential, the boson-Hubbard model exhibits a superfluid to Mott insulator quantum phase transition at commensurate fillings and strong coupling. We use quantum Monte Carlo simulations to study the ground state of the one-dimensional bosonic Hubbard model in a trap. Some, but not all, aspects of the Mott insulating phase persist. Mott behavior occurs for a continuous range of incommensurate fillings, very different from the unconfined case, and the establishment of the Mott phase does not proceed via a traditional quantum phase transition. These results have important implications for interpreting experiments on ultracold atoms on optical lattices.     

Dielectric catastrophe at the Mott transition

We study the Mott transition as a function of interaction strength in the half-filled Hubbard chain with next-nearest-neighbor hopping t' by calculating the response to an external electric field using the density matrix renormalization group. The electric susceptibility chi diverges when approaching the critical point from the insulating side. We show that the correlation length xi characterizing this transition is directly proportional to fluctuations of the polarization and that chi approximately xi2. The critical behavior shows that the transition is infinite order for all t', whether or not a spin gap is present, and that hyperscaling holds.     

Optically driven Mott‐Hubbard systems out of thermodynamic equilibrium

We consider the Hubbard model at half filling, driven by an external, stationary laser field. This stationary, but periodic in time, electromagnetic field couples to the charge current, i.e. it induces an extra contribution to the hopping amplitude in the Hubbard Hamiltonian (photo‐induced hopping). We generalize the dynamical mean‐field theory (DMFT) for nonequilibrium with periodic‐in‐time external fields, using a Floquet mode representation and the Keldysh formalism. We calculate the non‐equilibrium electron distribution function, the density of states and the optical DC conductivity in the presence of the external laser field for laser frequencies above and below the Mott‐Hubbard gap. The results demonstrate that the system exhibits an insulator‐metal transition as the frequency of the external field is increased and exceeds the Mott‐Hubbard gap. This corresponds to photo‐induced excitations into the upper Hubbard band.     

Doping-driven orbital-selective Mott transition in multi-band Hubbard models with crystal field splitting

We have studied the doping-driven orbital-selective Mott transition in multi-band Hubbard models with equal band width in the presence of crystal field splitting. Crystal field splitting lifts one of the bands while leaving the others degenerate. We use single-site dynamical mean-field theory combined with continuous time quantum Monte Carlo impurity solver to calculate a phase diagram as a function of total electron filling N and crystal field splitting Δ. We find a large region of orbital-selective Mott phase in the phase diagram when the doping is large enough. Further analysis indicates that the large region of orbital-selective Mott phase is driven and stabilized by doping. Such models may account for the orbital-selective Mott transition in some doped realistic strongly correlated materials.     

Mott transition in the two-dimensional Hubbard model

Spectral properties of the two-dimensional Hubbard model near the Mott transition are investigated by using cluster perturbation theory. The Mott transition is characterized by freezing of the charge degrees of freedom in a single-particle excitation that leads continuously to the magnetic excitation of the Mott insulator. Various anomalous spectral features observed in cuprate high-temperature superconductors are explained in a unified manner as properties near the Mott transition.     

Coherent potential approximation study of the Mott transition in optical lattice system with site-dependent interactions

We study the Mott transition in the half-filled Hubbard model with spatially alternating interactions by means of the coherent potential approximation. The phase boundary between metallic and insulating phases at zero temperature is derived and the nature of the Mott states is also considered. Our results are in good agreement with the ones recently obtained by the two-site dynamical mean-field theory.     

Cluster dynamical mean field analysis of the mott transition

We investigate the Mott transition using a cluster extension of dynamical mean field theory (DMFT). In the absence of frustration we find no evidence for a finite temperature Mott transition. Instead, in a frustrated model, we observe signatures of a finite temperature Mott critical point in agreement with experimental studies of kappa organics and with single-site DMFT. As the Mott transition is approached, a clear momentum dependence of the electron lifetime develops on the Fermi surface with the formation of cold regions along the diagonal direction of the Brillouin zone. Furthermore, the variation of the effective mass is no longer equal to the inverse of the quasiparticle residue, as in DMFT, and is reduced approaching the Mott transition.     

Correlated insulated phase suggests bond order between band and mott insulators in two dimensions

We investigate the ground state phase diagram of the half-filled repulsive Hubbard model in two dimensions in the presence of a staggered potential Delta, the so-called ionic Hubbard model, using cluster dynamical mean-field theory. We find that for large Coulomb repulsion, U > Delta, the system is a Mott insulator (MI). For weak to intermediate values of Delta, on decreasing U, the Mott gap closes at a critical value Uc1(Delta) beyond which a correlated insulating phase with possible bond order is found. Further, this phase undergoes a first-order transition to a band insulator (BI) at Uc2(Delta) with a finite charge gap at the transition. For large Delta, there is a direct first-order transition from a MI to a BI with a single metallic point at the phase boundary.     

Cluster dynamical mean field theory of the Mott transition

We address the nature of the Mott transition in the Hubbard model at half-filling using cluster dynamical mean field theory (DMFT). We compare cluster-DMFT results with those of single-site DMFT. We show that inclusion of the short-range correlations on top of the on-site correlations does not change the order of the transition between the paramagnetic metal and the paramagnetic Mott insulator, which remains first order. However, the short range correlations reduce substantially the critical U and modify the shape of the transition lines. Moreover, they lead to very different physical properties of the metallic and insulating phases near the transition point. Approaching the transition from the metallic side, we find an anomalous metallic state with very low coherence scale. The insulating state is characterized by the narrow Mott gap with pronounced peaks at the gap edge.     

Hubbard model on an anisotropic checkerboard lattice at finite temperatures: Magnetic and metal–insulator transitions

We study magnetic and Mott transitions of the Hubbard model on the geometrically frustrated anisotropic checkerboard lattice at half filling using cellular dynamical mean-field theory. Phase diagrams over a wide area of the parameter space are obtained by varying the interparticle interaction strength, geometric frustration strength, and temperature. Our results show that frustration and thermal fluctuations play a competing role against the interactions and in general favor a metallic phase without antiferromagnetic order. Due to their interplay, the system exhibits competition between antiferromagnetic insulator, antiferromagnetic metal, paramagnetic insulator, and paramagnetic metal phases in the intermediateinteraction regime. In the strong-interaction limit, which reduces to the Heisenberg model, our result is consistent with previous studies.     

Phase separation close to the density-driven Mott transition in the Hubbard-Holstein model

The density-driven Mott transition is studied by means of dynamical mean-field theory in the Hubbard-Holstein model, where the Hubbard term leading to the Mott transition is supplemented by an electron-phonon (e-ph) term. We show that an intermediate e-ph coupling leads to a first-order transition at T=0, which is accompanied by a phase separation between a metal and an insulator. The compressibility in the metallic phase is substantially enhanced. At quite larger values of the coupling, a polaronic phase emerges coexisting with a nonpolaronic metal.     

Similarities between the hubbard and periodic anderson models at finite temperatures

The single band Hubbard and the two band periodic Anderson Hamiltonians have traditionally been applied to rather different physical problems-the Mott transition and itinerant magnetism, and Kondo singlet formation and scattering off localized magnetic states, respectively. In this paper, we compare the magnetic and charge correlations, and spectral functions, of the two systems. We show quantitatively that they exhibit remarkably similar behavior, including a nearly identical topology of the finite temperature phase diagrams at half filling. We address potential implications of this for theories of the rare earth "volume collapse" transition.     

Metal-insulator transitions in the periodic Anderson model

We solve the periodic Anderson model in the Mott-Hubbard regime, using dynamical mean field theory. Upon electron doping of the Mott insulator, a metal-insulator transition occurs which is qualitatively similar to that of the single band Hubbard model, namely, with a divergent effective mass and a first order character at finite temperatures. Surprisingly, upon hole doping, the metal-insulator transition is not first order and does not show a divergent mass. Thus, the transition scenario of the single band Hubbard model is not generic for the periodic Anderson model, even in the Mott-Hubbard regime.     

Quantum phase transition in the two-band hubbard model

The interaction between itinerant and Mott localized electronic states in strongly correlated materials is studied within dynamical mean field theory in combination with the numerical renormalization group method. A novel nonmagnetic zero temperature quantum phase transition is found in the bad-metallic orbital-selective Mott phase of the two-band Hubbard model, for values of the Hund's exchange which are relevant to typical transition metal oxides.