arXiv subjects

A. Macridin

Publications and source records attributed to A. Macridin.

15 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2010

Quantum Criticality and Incipient Phase Separation in the Thermodynamic Properties of the Hubbard Model

Transport measurements on the cuprates suggest the presence of a quantum critical point hiding underneath the superconducting dome near optimal hole doping. We provide numerical evidence in support of this scenario via a dynamical cluster quantum Monte Carlo study of the extended two-dimensional Hubbard model. Single particle quantities, such as the spectral function, the quasiparticle weight and the entropy, display a crossover between two distinct ground states: a Fermi liquid at low filling and a non-Fermi liquid with a pseudogap at high filling. Both states are found to cross over to a marginal Fermi-liquid state at higher temperatures. For finite next-nearest-neighbor hopping t' we find a classical critical point at temperature T_c. This classical critical point is found to be associated with a phase separation transition between a compressible Mott gas and an incompressible Mott liquid corresponding to the Fermi liquid and the pseudogap state, respectively. Since the critical temperature T_c extrapolates to zero as t' vanishes, we conclude that a quantum critical point connects the Fermi-liquid to the pseudogap region, and that the marginal-Fermi-liquid behavior in its vicinity is the analogous of the supercritical region in the liquid-gas transition.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2010

Quantum Criticality Due to Incipient Phase Separation in the Two-dimensional Hubbard Model

We investigate the two-dimensional Hubbard model with next-nearest-neighbor hopping, t', using the dynamical cluster approximation. We confirm the existence of a first-order phase-separation transition terminating at a second-order critical point at filling n_c(t') and temperature T_ps(t'). We find that as t' approaches zero, T_ps(t') vanishes and n_c(t') approaches the filling associated with the quantum critical point separating the Fermi liquid from the pseudogap phase. We propose that the quantum critical point under the superconducting dome is the zero-temperature limit of the line of second-order critical points.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2010

Validity of the spin-susceptibility "glue" approximation for pairing in the two-dimensional Hubbard model

We examine the validity of the weak coupling spin-susceptibility "glue" approximation (SSGA) in a two-dimensional Hubbard model for cuprates. For comparison, we employ the well-established dynamical cluster approximation (DCA) with a quantum Monte Carlo algorithm as a cluster solver. We compare the leading eigenvalues and corresponding eigenfunctions of the DCA and SSGA pairing matrices. For realistic model parameters, we find that the SSGA fails to capture the leading pairing symmetries seen in the DCA. Furthermore, when the SSGA is improved through the addition of a term with d-wave symmetry, the strength of this additional term is found to be larger than that of the "glue" approximation.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2009

Thermodynamics of the Quantum Critical Point at Finite Doping in the 2D Hubbard Model: A Dynamical Cluster Approximation Study

We study the thermodynamics of the two-dimensional Hubbard model within the dynamical cluster approximation. We use continuous time quantum Monte Carlo as a cluster solver to avoid the systematic error which complicates the calculation of the entropy and potential energy (double occupancy). We find that at a critical filling, there is a pronounced peak in the entropy divided by temperature, S/T, and in the normalized double occupancy as a function of doping. At this filling, we find that specific heat divided by temperature, C/T, increases strongly with decreasing temperature and kinetic and potential energies vary like T^2 ln(T). These are all characteristics of quantum critical behavior.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2009

Quantum Critical Point at Finite Doping in the 2D Hubbard Model: A Dynamical Cluster Quantum Monte Carlo Study

We explore the Matsubara quasiparticle fraction and the pseudogap of the two-dimensional Hubbard model with the dynamical cluster quantum Monte Carlo method. The character of the quasiparticle fraction changes from non-Fermi liquid, to marginal Fermi liquid to Fermi liquid as a function of doping, indicating the presence of a quantum critical point separating non-Fermi liquid from Fermi liquid character. Marginal Fermi liquid character is found at low temperatures at a very narrow range of doping where the single-particle density of states is also symmetric. At higher doping the character of the quasiparticle fraction is seen to cross over from Fermi Liquid to Marginal Fermi liquid as the temperature increases.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2009

Effect of long-range hopping on Tc in a two-dimensional Hubbard-Holstein model of the cuprates

We study the effect of long-range hoppings on Tc for the two-dimensional (2D) Hubbard model with and without Holstein phonons using parameters evaluated from band-structure calculations for cuprates. Employing the dynamical cluster approximation (DCA) with a quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) cluster solver for a 4-site cluster, we observe that without phonons, the long-range hoppings, t' and t'', generally suppress Tc. We argue that this trend remains valid for larger clusters. In the presence of the Holstein phonons, a finite t' enhances Tc in the under-doped region for the hole-doped system, consistent with local-density approximation (LDA) calculations and experiment. This is interpreted through the suppression of antiferromagnetic (AF) correlations and the interplay between polaronic effects and the antiferromagnetism.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2008

Combined density-functional and dynamical cluster quantum Monte Carlo calculations for three-band Hubbard models for hole-doped cuprate superconductors

Using a combined local density functional theory (LDA-DFT) and quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) dynamic cluster approximation approach, the parameter dependence of the superconducting transition temperature Tc of several single-layer hole-doped cuprate superconductors with experimentally very different Tcmax is investigated. The parameters of two different three-band Hubbard models are obtained using the LDA and the downfolding Nth-order muffin-tin orbital technique with N=0 and 1 respectively. QMC calculations on 4-site clusters show that the d-wave transition temperature Tc depends sensitively on the parameters. While the N=1 MTO basis set which reproduces all three $pdσ$ bands leads to a d-wave transition, the N=0 set which merely reproduces the LDA Fermi surface and velocities does not.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2008

Suppression of d-wave superconductivity in the checkerboard Hubbard model

Using a dynamical cluster quantum Monte Carlo approximation we investigate the d-wave superconducting transition temperature $T_c$ in the doped 2D repulsive Hubbard model with a weak inhomogeneity. The inhomogeneity is introduced in the hoppings $\tp$ and $t$ in the form of a checkerboard pattern where $t$ is the hopping within a $2\times2$ plaquette and $\tp$ is the hopping between the plaquettes. We find inhomogeneity suppresses $T_c$. The characteristic spin excitation energy and the strength of d-wave pairing interaction decrease with decreasing $T_c$ suggesting a strong correlation between these quantities.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2007

Systematic analysis of a spin-susceptibility representation of the pairing interaction in the 2D Hubbard model

A dynamic cluster quantum Monte Carlo algorithm is used to study a spin susceptibility representation of the pairing interaction for the two-dimensional Hubbard model with an on-site Coulomb interaction equal to the bandwidth for various doping levels. We find that the pairing interaction is well approximated by ${3/2}\Ub(T)^2χ(K-K')$ with an effective temperature and doping dependent coupling $\Ub(T)$ and the numerically calculated spin susceptibility $χ(K-K')$. We show that at low temperatures, $\Ub$ may be accurately determined from a corresponding spin susceptibility based calculation of the single-particle self-energy. We conclude that the strength of the d-wave pairing interaction, characterized by the mean-field transition temperature, can be determined from a knowledge of the dressed spin susceptibility and the nodal quasiparticle spectral weight. This has important implications with respect to the questions of whether spin fluctuations are responsible for pairing in the high-T$_c$ cuprates.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2006

Phase separation in the Hubbard model

Phase separation in the Hubbard model is investigated with the dynamical cluster approximation. We find that it is present in the paramagnetic solution for values of filling smaller than one and at finite temperature when a positive next-nearest neighbor hopping is considered. The phase separated region is characterized by a mixture of a strongly correlated metallic and Mott insulating phases. Our results indicate that phase separation is driven by the formation of doped regions with strong antiferromagnetic correlations and low kinetic energy

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2006

Spectral Properties of Holstein and Breathing Polarons

We calculate the spectral properties of the one-dimensional Holstein and breathing polarons using the self-consistent Born approximation. The Holstein model electron-phonon coupling is momentum independent while the breathing coupling increases monotonically with the phonon momentum. We find that for a linear or tight binding electron dispersion: i) for the same value of the dimensionless coupling the quasiparticle renormalization at small momentum in the breathing polaron is much smaller, ii) the quasiparticle renormalization at small momentum in the breathing polaron increases with phonon frequency unlike in the Holstein model where it decreases, iii) in the Holstein model the quasiparticle dispersion displays a kink and a small gap at an excitation energy equal to the phonon frequency w0 while in the breathing model it displays two gaps, one at excitation energy w0 and another one at 2w0. These differences have two reasons: first, the momentum of the relevant scattered phonons increases with increasing polaron momentum and second, the breathing bare coupling is an increasing function of the phonon momentum. These result in an effective electron-phonon coupling for the breathing model which is an increasing function of the total polaron momentum, such that the small momentum polaron is in the weak coupling regime while the large momentum one is in the strong coupling regime. However the first reason does not hold if the free electron dispersion has low energy states separated by large momentum, as in a higher dimensional system for example, in which situation the difference between the two models becomes less significant.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2004

Physics of cuprates with the two-band Hubbard model - The validity of the one-band Hubbard model

We calculate the properties of the two-band Hubbard model using the Dynamical Cluster Approximation. The phase diagram resembles the generic phase diagram of the cuprates, showing a strong asymmetry with respect to electron and hole doped regimes, in agreement with experiment. Asymmetric features are also seen in one-particle spectral functions and in the charge, spin and d-wave pairing susceptibility functions. We address the possible reduction of the two-band model to a low-energy single-band one, as it was suggested by Zhang and Rice. Comparing the two-band Hubbard model properties with the single-band Hubbard model ones, we have found similar low-energy physics provided that the next-nearest-neighbor hopping term t' has a significant value ($t'/t \approx 0.3$). The parameter t' is the main culprit for the electron-hole asymmetry. However, a significant value of t' cannot be provided in a strict Zhang and Rice picture where the extra holes added into the system bind to the existing Cu holes forming local singlets. We notice that by considering approximate singlet states, such as plaquette ones, reasonable values of t', which capture qualitatively the physics of the two-band model can be obtained. We conclude that a single-band t-t'-U Hubbard model captures the basic physics of the cuprates concerning superconductivity, antiferromagnetism, pseudogap and electron-hole asymmetry, but is not suitable for a quantitative analysis or to describe physical properties involving energy scales larger than about 0.5 eV.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2004

Analytic continuation of QMC data with a sign problem

We present a Maximum Entropy method (MEM) for obtaining dynamical spectra from Quantum Monte Carlo data which have a sign problem. By relating the sign fluctuations to the norm of the spectra, our method properly treats the correlations between the measured quantities and the sign. The method greatly improves the quality and the resolution of the spectra, enabling it to produce good spectra even for poorly conditioned data where standard MEM fails.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2002

Kinetic energy driven pairing

Pairing occurs in conventional superconductors through a reduction of the electronic potential energy accompanied by an increase in kinetic energy, indicating that the transition is driven by a pairing potential. In the underdoped cuprates, optical experiments show that pairing is driven by a reduction of the electronic kinetic energy. Using the Dynamical Cluster Approximation we study the nature of superconductivity in a microscopic model of the cuprates, the two-dimensional Hubbard model. We find that pairing is indeed driven by the kinetic energy and that superconductivity evolves from an unconventional, spin-charge separated state, consistent with the RVB model of high-temperature superconductors.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2002

On the origin of the pseudogap in underdoped cuprates

We investigate the microscopic origin of the pseudogap in the weakly doped 2D Hubbard model using Quantum Monte Carlo within the dynamical cluster approximation. We compare our results with proposed scenarios for the pseudogap. All our numerical evidence is in favor of spin-charge separation as described in the resonating valence bond picture as the cause of the pseudogap behavior. Scenarios of "preformed pairs", the coupling of quasiparticles to antiferromagnetic spin-fluctuations and stripes are inconsistent with our results.

cond-mat.str-el↗