Hubbard-assisted stability of Hatsugai-Kohmoto correlations in a one-dimensional open chain

Abstract

The Hatsugai-Kohmoto (HK) model has recently been identified as a fixed-point description of Mottness that is stable against perturbing local interactions. This raises a natural question beyond the weak-perturbation regime: how does a finite local repulsion modify HK physics in real-space observables and local spectra? We address this question in a half-filled one-dimensional spinful fermion chain, where the HK interaction is supplemented by an onsite Hubbard repulsion. Using exact diagonalization in an open chain, we compute ground-state correlation functions and site-resolved local spectra. We find that the Hubbard term does not drive the system away from the HK-dominated regime. Instead, at moderate $U_{\rm HK}$, a finite $U_{\rm Hub}$ promotes the emergence of behavior characteristic of the pure HK chain at larger $U_{\rm HK}$. This Hubbard-assisted strong-HK response is reflected consistently in the development of positive spin correlations, the suppression of single-particle coherence, the impurity-induced redistribution of local spectral weight, and the evolution of pairing correlations. As a control perturbation, we replace the onsite Hubbard interaction by a nearest-neighbor (NN) density interaction. In contrast to the Hubbard case, the HK and NN interactions display competing tendencies and do not reproduce the same strong-HK behavior. These results provide a nonperturbative real-space complement to the fixed-point stability of HK physics and show that the effect of an additional repulsive interaction depends sensitively on its spatial structure.