arXiv subjects

E. Arrigoni

Publications and source records attributed to E. Arrigoni.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2008

Non-quasiparticle states in Co$_2$MnSi evidenced through magnetic tunnel junction spectroscopy measurements

We investigate the effects of electronic correlations in the full-Heusler Co$_2$MnSi, by combining a theoretical analysis of the spin-resolved density of states with tunneling-conductance spectroscopy measurements using Co$_2$MnSi as electrode. Both experimental and theoretical results confirm the existence of so-called non-quasiparticle states and their crucial contribution to the finite-temperature spin polarisation in this material.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2008

Absence of Hole Confinement in Transition Metal Oxides with Orbital Degeneracy

We investigate the spectral properties of a hole moving in a two-dimensional Hubbard model for strongly correlated t_2g electrons. Although superexchange interactions are Ising-like, a quasi-one-dimensional coherent hole motion arises due to effective three-site terms. This mechanism is fundamentally different from the hole motion via quantum fluctuations in the conventional spin model with SU(2) symmetry. The orbital model describes also propagation of a hole in some e_g compounds, and we argue that orbital degeneracy alone does not lead to hole self-localization.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2007

Phase separation and competition of superconductivity and magnetism in the two-dimensional Hubbard model: From strong to weak coupling

Cooperation and competition between the antiferromagnetic, d-wave superconducting and Mott-insulating states are explored for the two-dimensional Hubbard model including nearest and next-nearest-neighbor hoppings at zero temperature. Using the variational cluster approach with clusters of different shapes and sizes up to 10 sites, it is found that the doping-driven transition from a phase with microscopic coexistence of antiferromagnetism and superconductivity to a purely superconducting phase is discontinuous for strong interaction and accompanied by phase separation. At half-filling the system is in an antiferromagnetic Mott-insulating state with vanishing charge compressibility. Upon decreasing the interaction strength U below a certain critical value of roughly U=4 (in units of the nearest-neighbor hopping), however, the filling-dependent magnetic transition changes its character and becomes continuous. Phase separation or, more carefully, the tendency towards the formation of inhomogeneous states disappears. This critical value is in contrast to previous studies, where a much larger value was obtained. Moreover, we find that the system at half-filling undergoes the Mott transition from an insulator to a state with a finite charge compressibility at essentially the same value. The weakly correlated state at half-filling exhibits superconductivity microscopically admixed to the antiferromagnetic order. This scenario suggests a close relation between phase separation and the Mott-insulator physics.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2007

The superconducting gap in the Hubbard model and the two gap energy scales in high-Tc cuprates

Recent excperiments (ARPES, Raman) suggest the presence of two distinct energy gaps in high-Tc superconductors (HTSC), exhibiting different doping dependences. Results of a variational cluster approach to the superconducting state of the two-dimensional Hubbard model are presented which show that this model qualitatively describes this gap dichotomy: One gap (antinodal) increases with less doping, a behavior long considered as reflecting the general gap behavior of the HTSC. On the other hand, the near-nodal gap does even slightly decrease with underdoping. An explanation of this unexpected behavior is given which emphasizes the crucial role of spin fluctuations in the pairing mechanism.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2007

Half-Metallic Ferromagnetism and the spin polarization in CrO$_2$

We present electronic structure calculations in combination with local and non-local many-body correlation effects for the half-metallic ferromagnet CrO$_2$. Finite-temperature Dynamical Mean Field Theory results show the existence of non-quasiparticle states, which were recently observed as almost currentless minority spin states near the Fermi energy in resonant scattering experients. At zero temperatures, Variational Cluster Approach calculations support the half-metallic nature of CrO$_2$ as seen in superconducting point contact spectroscopy. The combination of these two techniques allowed us to qualitatively describe the spin-polarization in CrO$_2$.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2007

Variational cluster approach to the Hubbard model: Phase-separation tendency and finite-size effects

Using the variational cluster approach (VCA), we study the transition from the antiferromagnetic to the superconducting phase of the two-dimensional Hubbard model at zero temperature. Our calculations are based on a new method to evaluate the VCA grand potential which employs a modified Lanczos algorithm and avoids integrations over the real or imaginary frequency axis. Thereby, very accurate results are possible for cluster sizes not accessible to full diagonalization. This is important for an improved treatment of short-range correlations, including correlations between Cooper pairs in particular. We investigate the cluster-size dependence of the phase-separation tendency that has been proposed recently on the basis of calculations for smaller clusters. It is shown that the energy barrier driving the phase separation decreases with increasing cluster size. This supports the conjecture that the ground state exhibits microscopic inhomogeneities rather than macroscopic phase separation. The evolution of the single-particle spectum as a function of doping is studied in addtion and the relevance of our results for experimental findings is pointed out.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2006

Renormalization of the electron-spin-fluctuation interaction in the t-t'-U Hubbard model

We study the renormalization of the electron-spin-fluctuation (el-sp) vertex in a two-dimensional Hubbard model with nearest-neighbor (t) and next-nearest-neighbor (t') hopping by a Quantum-Monte-Carlo calculation. Our results show that for t'=0, the renormalized el-sp vertex decreases quite generally with decreasing temperature at all spin-fluctuation momentum transfers. The suppression of the el-sp vertex results in a substantial reduction of the effective pairing interaction mediated by antiferromagnetic spin fluctuations in both the intermediate- and strong-correlation regimes. The inclusion of a finite t'/t<0, increases the Landau damping rate of spin fluctuations, especially in the overdoped region. The increased damping rate leads to smaller vertex corrections, in agreement with earlier diagrammatic calculations. Still, the vertex correction reduces the spin-fermion vertex, as at t'=0.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2006

Antiferromagnetic to superconducting phase transition in the hole- and electron-doped Hubbard model at zero temperature

The competition between d-wave superconductivity (SC) and antiferromagnetism (AF) in the high-Tc cuprates is investigated by studying the hole- and electron-doped two-dimensional Hubbard model with a recently proposed variational quantum-cluster theory. The approach is shown to provide a thermodynamically consistent determination of the particle number, provided that an overall shift of the on-site energies is treated as a variational parameter. The consequences for the single-particle excitation spectra and for the phase diagram are explored. By comparing the single-particle spectra with quantum Monte-Carlo (QMC) and experimental data, we verify that the low-energy excitations in a strongly-correlated electronic system are described appropriately. The cluster calculations also reproduce the overall ground-state phase diagram of the high-temperature superconductors. In particular, they include salient features such as the enhanced robustness of the antiferromagnetic state as a function of electron doping and the tendency towards phase separation into a mixed antiferromagnetic-superconducting phase at low-doping and a pure superconducting phase at high (both hole and electron) doping.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2006

Half-metallic ferromagnetism induced by dynamic electron correlations in VAs

The electronic structure of the VAs compound in the zinc-blende structure is investigated using a combined density-functional and dynamical mean-field theory approach. Contrary to predictions of a ferromagnetic semiconducting ground state obtained by density-functional calculations, dynamical correlations induce a closing of the gap and produce a half-metallic ferromagnetic state. These results emphasize the importance of dynamic correlations in materials suitable for spintronics.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2006

Electron Correlations and the Minority-Spin Band Gap in Half-Metallic Heusler Alloys

Electron-electron correlations affect the band gap of half-metallic ferromagnets by introducing non-quasiparticle states just above the Fermi level. In contrast to the spin-orbit coupling, a large asymmetric non-quasiparticle spectral weight is present in the minority-spin channel, leading to a peculiar finite-temperature spin depolarization effects. Using recently developed first-principle dynamical mean field theory, we investigate these effects for the half-metallic ferrimagnetic Heusler compound FeMnSb. We discuss depolarization effects in terms of strength of local Coulomb interaction $U$ and temperature in FeMnSb. We propose Ni$_{1-x}$Fe$_{x}$MnSb alloys as a perspective materials to be used in spin-valve structures and for experimental search of non-quasiparticle states in half-metallic materials.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2005

Role of vertex corrections in the spin-fluctuation mediated pairing mechanism

We study numerically and partly diagrammatically the renormalization of the electron-spin interaction or vertex in a two-dimensional one-band Hubbard model with spin-fluctuation momentum transfer ${\vv q}=(π,π)$. We find that the renormalized electron-spin vertex decreases quite generally with decreasing temperature at all doping densities. As a combination of two concurring effects, i.e. the decrease of the vertex and the increase of the spin susceptibility, the effective pairing interaction increases with lowering temperature in the intermediate-correlation regime, but {\it flattens off} in the strong-correlation regime. Our findings indicate that in the high-T$_c$ cuprates the pairing mediated by antiferromagnetic spin fluctuations is substantially reduced due to vertex corrections.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2005

Weak phase separation and the pseudogap in the electron-doped cuprates

We study the quantum transition from an antiferromagnet to a superconductor in a model for electron- and hole-doped cuprates by means of a variational cluster perturbation theory approach. In both cases, our results suggest a tendency towards phase separation between a mixed antiferromagnetic-superconducting phase at low doping and a pure superconducting phase at larger doping. However, in the electron-doped case the energy scale for phase separation is an order of magnitude smaller than for hole doping. We argue that this can explain the different pseudogap and superconducting transition scales in hole- and electron-doped materials.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2005

Correlated band structure of electron-doped cuprate materials

We present a numerical study of the doping dependence of the spectral function of the n-type cuprates. Using a variational cluster-perturbation theory approach based upon the self-energy-functional theory, the spectral function of the electron-doped two-dimensional Hubbard model is calculated. The model includes the next-nearest neighbor electronic hopping amplitude $t'$ and a fixed on-site interaction $U=8t$ at half filling and doping levels ranging from $x=0.077$ to $x=0.20$. Our results support the fact that a comprehensive description of the single-particle spectrum of electron-doped cuprates requires a proper treatment of strong electronic correlations. In contrast to previous weak-coupling approaches, we obtain a consistent description of the ARPES experiments without the need to introduce a doping-dependent on-site interaction $U$.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2004

Competition Between Charge-Density Waves and Superconductivity in Striped Systems

Switching on interchain coupling in a system of one-dimensional strongly interacting chains often leads to an ordered state. Quite generally, there is a competition between an insulating charge-density-wave and a superconducting state. In the case of repulsive interactions, charge-density wave usually wins over superconductivity. Here, we show that a suitable modulation in the form of a period 4 bond-centered stripe can reverse this balance even in the repulsive case and produce a superconducting state with relatively high temperature.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2004

Variational cluster approach to spontaneous symmetry breaking: The itinerant antiferromagnet in two dimensions

Based on the self-energy-functional approach proposed recently [M. Potthoff, Eur. Phys. J. B 32, 429 (2003)], we present an extension of the cluster-perturbation theory to systems with spontaneously broken symmetry. Our method applies to models with local interactions and accounts for both short-range correlations and long-range order. Short-range correlations are accurately taken into account via exact diagonalization of finite clusters. Long-range order is described by variational optimization of a ficticious symmetry-breaking field. In comparison with related cluster methods, our approach is more flexible and, for a given cluster size, less demanding numerically, especially at zero temperature. An application of the method to the antiferromagnetic phase of the Hubbard model at half-filling shows good agreement with results from quantum Monte-Carlo calculations. We demonstrate that the variational extension of the cluster-perturbation theory is crucial to reproduce salient features of the single-particle spectrum.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2004

Mechanism of High Temperature Superconductivity in a striped Hubbard Model

It is shown, using asymptotically exact methods, that the two dimensional repulsive Hubbard model with strongly modulated interactions exhibits ``high temperature superconductivity". Specifically, the explicit modulation, which has the same symmetry as period 4 bond-centered stripes, breaks the system into an alternating array of more and less heavily hole doped, nearly decoupled two-leg ladders. It is shown that this system exhibits a pairing scale determined by the spin-gap of the undoped two-leg ladder, and a phase ordering temperature proportional to a low positive power of the inter-ladder coupling.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2004

Electron-phonon vertex in the two-dimensional one-band Hubbard model

Using quantum Monte Carlo techniques, we study the effects of electronic correlations on the effective electron-phonon (el-ph) coupling in a two-dimensional one-band Hubbard model. We consider a momentum-independent bare ionic el-ph coupling. In the weak- and intermediate-correlation regimes, we find that the on-site Coulomb interaction $U$ acts to effectively suppress the ionic el-ph coupling at all electron- and phonon- momenta. In this regime, our numerical simulations are in good agreement with the results of perturbation theory to order $U^2$. However, entering the strong-correlation regime, we find that the forward scattering process stops decreasing and begins to substantially increase as a function of $U$, leading to an effective el-ph coupling which is peaked in the forward direction. Whereas at weak and intermediate Coulomb interactions, screening is the dominant correlation effect suppressing the el-ph coupling, at larger $U$ values irreducible vertex corrections become more important and give rise to this increase. These vertex corrections depend crucially on the renormalized electronic structure of the strongly correlated system.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2003

Asymmetric electron-phonon interactions in the three-band Peierls-Hubbard model

Using the Quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) technique within frozen-phonon, we studied the effects of the half-breathing O$(π,0)$ phonon mode on the ground-state properties of the three-band Peierls-Hubbard model. Our simulations are performed for both ionic and covalent electron-phonon couplings. The effects of lattice displacements on the ground-state energies and charge fluctuations are similar in magnitude for both hole- and electron-doped cases. However, the effects of lattice displacements on the magnetic properties are rather different. In the hole-doped case, the normalized next-nearest-neighbor Cu-Cu spin correlations are dramatically modified by both ionic and covalent electron-phonon couplings. On the other hand, in the electron-doped case, much smaller effects are observed. The distinct spin-phonon couplings, in conjunction with the spin-bag picture of the quasiparticle, could explain a strong mass renormalization effect in the p-type cuprates and a weaker effect in the n-type cuprates.

cond-mat.str-el↗