arXiv subjects

Erik G. C. P. van Loon

Publications and source records attributed to Erik G. C. P. van Loon.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Magnons in multiorbital Hubbard models, from Lieb to kagome

We investigate the magnetic orders and excitations in a half-filled Hubbard model that continuously interpolates between the Lieb and kagome lattices. Using self-consistent Hartree-Fock approximation combined with the Bethe-Salpeter equation in the random phase approximation, we map the $U-t'$ phase diagram of the Lieb-kagome lattices and compute real-frequency transverse spin susceptibilities, i.e., the magnon spectra. Dynamical mean-field theory and exact diagonalization are used as complementary checks of static magnetic phases. In particular, besides gapless Goldstone magnons, the symmetry-broken ferrimagnetic and antiferromagnetic phases also exhibit gapped Higgs magnon bands, which originate from amplitude fluctuations in the order parameter characterizing spontaneous symmetry breaking.

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arXiv2026

Benchmarking the Dual Fermion approach on the Falicov-Kimball model

Strong electronic correlations generally require non-perturbative treatment. Local correlations are captured by dynamical mean-field theory while nonlocal correlations can be treated with diagrammatic extensions such as the Dual Fermion approach. Dual Fermion is built on physically motivated, but in principle uncontrolled approximations, so careful benchmarking is needed to understand the strengths and limitations of the method. In this work, we benchmark ladder Dual Fermion and dynamical mean-field theory for the Falicov-Kimball model with the exact classical Monte Carlo solution. We focus on the thermodynamics, electronic structure and susceptibility, especially at the combined frequency and momentum structure, and find that Dual Fermion clearly outperforms dynamical mean-field theory. Somewhat surprisingly, Dual Fermion is not as accurate for the relation between orbital density versus chemical potential in the doped system. These results demonstrate the need for rigorous benchmarking of diagrammatic extensions of dynamical mean-field theory for models with inequivalent orbitals, which is essential for modelling materials.

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arXiv2025

Static treatment of dynamic interactions in the single-orbital Anderson impurity model

Correlated electron physics is intrinsically a multiscale problem, since high-energy electronic states screen the interactions between the correlated electrons close to the Fermi level, thereby reducing the magnitude of the interaction strength and dramatically shortening its range. Thus, the handling of screening is an essential ingredient in the first-principles modelling of correlated electron systems. Screening is an intrinsically dynamic process and the corresponding downfolding methods such as the constrained Random Phase Approximation indeed produce a dynamic interaction. However, many low-energy methods require an instantaneous interaction as input, which makes it necessary to map the fully dynamic interaction to an effective instantaneous interaction strength. It is a priori not clear if and when such an effective model can capture the physics of the one with dynamic interaction and how to best perform the mapping. Here, we provide a systematic benchmark relevant to correlated materials, in the form of the Anderson impurity model. Overall, we find that a static approximation can be valid and that the moment-based approach recently proposed by Scott and Booth can be a good tool to find the value of the static interaction. We also identify physical regimes, especially under doping, where an instantaneous interaction cannot capture all of the relevant physics.

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arXiv2025

From strong to weak correlations in breathing-mode kagome van der Waals materials: Nb$_3$(F,Cl,Br,I)$_8$ as a robust and versatile platform for many-body engineering

By combining ab initio downfolding with cluster dynamical mean-field theory, we study the degree of correlations in monolayer, bilayer and bulk breathing-mode kagome van der Waals materials Nb$_3$(F,Cl,Br,I)$_8$. Our new material-specific many-body model library shows that in low-temperature bulk structures the Coulomb correlation strength steadily increases from I to F, allowing us to identify Nb$_3$I$_8$ as a weakly correlated insulator, Nb$_3$Br$_8$ and Nb$_3$Cl$_8$ as strongly correlated insulators, and Nb$_3$F$_8$ as a prototypical bulk Mott-insulator. Angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy measurements comparing Nb$_3$Br$_8$ and Nb$_3$I$_8$ allow us to experimentally confirm these findings by revealing spectroscopic footprints of the degree of correlation. Our calculations uncover how the thickness and the stacking affect the degree of correlations and predict that the entire material family can be tuned into correlated charge-transfer or Mott-insulating phases upon doping. Our magnetic property analysis based on our model parameter library additionally confirms that inter-layer magnetic interactions drive the lattice phase transition to the low-temperature structures. The accompanying bilayer hybridization through inter-layer dimerization yields magnetic singlet-like ground states in the Cl, Br, and I compounds. We further prove that all low-temperature compounds are dynamically stable and that electron-phonon coupling to the low-energy subspace is suppressed. Our findings establish Nb$_3$X$_8$ as a robust, versatile, and tunable class for van der Waals-based Coulomb and Mott engineering with a rich phase diagram and allow us to speculate on the symmetry-breaking effects necessary for the recently observed Josephson diode effect in NbSe$_2$/Nb$_3$Br$_8$/NbSe$_2$ heterostructures.

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arXiv2025

Linear-response theory in Floquet systems

Nonequilibrium quantum physics greatly simplifies in the case of time-periodic Hamiltonians, since Floquet theory provides an analogue to Bloch's theorem in the time domain. Still, the formal properties of Floquet many-body theory remain underexplored. Here, we develop linear response theory for Floquet systems, in the sense that we have a time-periodic potential of arbitrary strength and a perturbatively small but non-periodic probing field. As an application, we derive the analogy of Fermi's Golden Rule and the photoemission spectrum of a many-electron system. As in the equilibrium case, the latter is related to the spectral function which is positive definite. We also analyze the parameter dependence of the controllable photoemission spectra by virtue of Floquet engineering.

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arXiv2024

Downfolding from Ab Initio to Interacting Model Hamiltonians: Comprehensive Analysis and Benchmarking of the DFT+cRPA Approach

Model Hamiltonians are regularly derived from first-principles data to describe correlated matter. However, the standard methods for this contain a number of largely unexplored approximations. For a strongly correlated impurity model system, here we carefully compare a standard downfolding technique with the best possible ground-truth estimates for charge-neutral excited state energies and wavefunctions using state-of-the-art first-principles many-body wave function approaches. To this end, we use the vanadocene molecule and analyze all downfolding aspects, including the Hamiltonian form, target basis, double counting correction, and Coulomb interaction screening models. We find that the choice of target-space basis functions emerges as a key factor for the quality of the downfolded results, while orbital-dependent double counting correction diminishes the quality. Background screening to the Coulomb interaction matrix elements primarily affects crystal-field excitations. Our benchmark uncovers the relative importance of each downfolding step and offers insights into the potential accuracy of minimal downfolded model Hamiltonians

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arXiv2024

Second-order phase transitions and divergent linear response in dynamical mean-field theory

Second-order phase transitions appear as a divergence in one of the linear response functions. For a system of correlated electrons, the relevant divergent response can and does involve many-particle observables, most famously the double occupancy. Generally, evaluating the linear response function of many-particle observables requires a many-particle generalization of the Bethe-Salpeter equation. However, here I show that the divergence of linear response functions in dynamical mean-field theory is governed by a two-particle Bethe-Salpeter equation, even for many-particle observables. The reason for this is that the divergence at the second-order phase transition is produced by the self-consistent feedback of the dynamical mean-field.

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arXiv2024

Dual Bethe-Salpeter equation for the multi-orbital lattice susceptibility within dynamical mean-field theory

Dynamical mean-field theory describes the impact of strong local correlation effects in many-electron systems. While the single-particle spectral function is directly obtained within the formalism, two-particle susceptibilities can also be obtained by solving the Bethe-Salpeter equation. The solution requires handling infinite matrices in Matsubara frequency space. This is commonly treated using a finite frequency cut-off, resulting in slow linear convergence. A decomposition of the two-particle response in local and non-local contributions enables a reformulation of the Bethe-Salpeter equation inspired by the dual boson formalism. The re-formulation has a drastically improved cubic convergence with respect to the frequency cut-off, facilitating the calculation of susceptibilities in multi-orbital systems considerably. This improved convergence arises from the fact that local contributions can be measured in the impurity solver. The dual Bethe-Salpeter equation uses the fully reducible vertex which is free from vertex divergences. We benchmark the approach on several systems including the spin susceptibility of strontium ruthenate Sr$_2$RuO$_4$, a strongly correlated Hund's metal with three active orbitals.

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arXiv2024

Ab initio electron-lattice downfolding: potential energy landscapes, anharmonicity, and molecular dynamics in charge density wave materials

The interplay of electronic and nuclear degrees of freedom presents an outstanding problem in condensed matter physics and chemistry. Computational challenges arise especially for large systems, long time scales, in nonequilibrium, or in systems with strong correlations. In this work, we show how downfolding approaches facilitate complexity reduction on the electronic side and thereby boost the simulation of electronic properties and nuclear motion - in particular molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Three different downfolding strategies based on constraining, unscreening, and combinations thereof are benchmarked against full density functional calculations for selected charge density wave (CDW) systems, namely 1H-TaS$_2$, 1T-TiSe$_2$, 1H-NbS$_2$, and a one-dimensional carbon chain. We find that the downfolded models can reproduce potential energy surfaces on supercells accurately and facilitate computational speedup in MD simulations by about five orders of magnitude in comparison to purely ab initio calculations. For monolayer 1H-TaS$_2$ we report classical replica exchange and quantum path integral MD simulations, revealing the impact of thermal and quantum fluctuations on the CDW transition.

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arXiv2023

Larmor precession in strongly correlated itinerant electron systems

Many-electron systems undergo a collective Larmor precession in the presence of a magnetic field. In a paramagnetic metal, the resulting spin wave provides insight into the correlation effects generated by the electron-electron interaction. Here, we use dynamical mean-field theory to investigate the collective Larmor precession in the strongly correlated regime, where dynamical correlation effects such as quasiparticle lifetimes and non-quasiparticle states are essential. We study the spin excitation spectrum, which includes a dispersive Larmor mode as well as electron-hole excitations that lead to Stoner damping. We also extract the momentum-resolved damping of slow spin waves. The accurate theoretical description of these phenomena relies on the Ward identity, which guarantees a precise cancellation of self-energy and vertex corrections at long wavelengths. Our findings pave the way towards a better understanding of spin wave damping in correlated materials.

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arXiv2023

Unconventional charge-density-wave gap in monolayer NbS$_2$

Using scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy, for a monolayer of transition metal dichalcogenide H-NbS$_2$ grown by molecular beam epitaxy on graphene, we provide unambiguous evidence for a charge density wave (CDW) with a 3$\times$3 superstructure, which is not present in bulk NbS$_2$. Local spectroscopy displays a pronounced gap of the order of 20 meV at the Fermi level. Within the gap low energy features are present. The gap structure with its low energy features is at variance with the expectation for a gap opening in the electronic band structure due to a CDW. Instead, comparison with \it{ab initio} calculations indicates that the observed gap structure must be attributed to combined electron-phonon quasiparticles. The phonons in question are the elusive amplitude and phase collective modes of the CDW transition. Our findings advance the understanding of CDW mechanisms in two dimensional materials and their spectroscopic signatures.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2023

Nb$_3$Cl$_8$: A Prototypical Layered Mott-Hubbard Insulator

The Hubbard model provides an idealized description of electronic correlations in solids. Despite its simplicity, the model features a competition between several different phases that have made it one of the most studied systems in theoretical physics. Real materials usually deviate from the ideal of the Hubbard model in several ways, but the monolayer of Nb$_3$Cl$_8$ has recently appeared as a potentially optimal candidate for the realization of such a single-orbital Hubbard model. Here we show how this single orbital Hubbard model can be indeed constructed within a "molecular" rather than atomic basis set using ab initio constrained random phase approximation calculations. This way, we provide the essential ingredients to connect experimental reality with ab initio material descriptions and correlated electron theory, which clarifies that monolayer Nb$_3$Cl$_8$ is a Mott insulator with a gap of about 1 to 1.2eV depending on its dielectric environment. By comparing with an atomistic three-orbital model, we show that the single molecular orbital description is indeed adequate. We furthermore comment on the expected electronic and magnetic structure of the compound and show that the Mott insulating state survives in the low-temperature and bulk phases of the material.

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arXiv2022

Coulomb Engineering of two-dimensional Mott materials

Two-dimensional materials can be strongly influenced by their surroundings. A dielectric environment screens and reduces the Coulomb interaction between electrons in the two-dimensional material. Since in Mott materials the Coulomb interaction is responsible for the insulating state, manipulating the dielectric screening provides direct control over Mottness. Our many-body calculations reveal the spectroscopic fingerprints of such Coulomb engineering: we demonstrate eV-scale changes to the position of the Hubbard bands and show a Coulomb engineered insulator-to-metal transition. Based on our proof-of-principle calculations, we discuss the (feasible) conditions under which our scenario of Coulomb engineering of Mott materials can be realized experimentally.

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arXiv2022

Two-particle correlations and the metal-insulator transition: Iterated Perturbation Theory revisited

Recent advances in many-body physics have made it possible to study correlated electron systems at the two-particle level. In Dynamical Mean-Field theory, it has been shown that the metal-insulator phase diagram is closely related to the eigenstructure of the susceptibility. So far, this situation has been studied using accurate but numerically expensive solvers. Here, the Iterated Perturbation Theory (IPT) approximation is used instead. Its simplicity makes it possible to obtain analytical results for the two-particle vertex and the DMFT Jacobian. The limited computational cost also enables a detailed comparison of analytical expressions for the response functions to results obtained using finite differences. At the same time, the approximate nature of IPT precludes an interpretation of the metal-insulator transition in terms of a Landau free energy functional.

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arXiv2021

Ab initio phonon self-energies and fluctuation diagnostics of phonon anomalies: Lattice instabilities from Dirac pseudospin physics in transition metal dichalcogenides

We present an ab initio approach for the calculation of phonon self-energies and their fluctuation diagnostics, which allows us to identify the electronic processes behind phonon anomalies. Application to the transition-metal-dichalcogenide monolayer 1H-TaS$_2$ reveals that coupling between the longitudinal-acoustic phonons and the electrons from an isolated low-energy metallic band is entirely responsible for phonon anomalies such as the mode softening and associated charge-density waves observed in this material. Our analysis allows us to distinguish between different mode-softening mechanisms including matrix-element effects, Fermi-surface nesting, and Van Hove scenarios. We find that matrix-element effects originating from a peculiar type of Dirac pseudospin textures control the charge-density-wave physics in 1H-TaS$_2$ and similar transition metal dichalcogenides.

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arXiv2021

Random Phase Approximation for gapped systems: role of vertex corrections and applicability of the constrained random phase approximation

The many-body theory of interacting electrons poses an intrinsically difficult problem that requires simplifying assumptions. For the determination of electronic screening properties of the Coulomb interaction, the Random Phase Approximation (RPA) provides such a simplification. Here, we explicitly show that this approximation is justified for band structures with sizeable band gaps. This is when the electronic states responsible for the screening are energetically far away from the Fermi level, which is equivalent to a short electronic propagation length of these states. The RPA contains exactly those diagrams in which the classical Coulomb interaction covers all distances, whereas neglected vertex corrections involve quantum tunneling through the barrier formed by the band gap. Our analysis of electron-electron interactions provides a real-space analogy to Migdal's theorem on the smallness of vertex corrections in electron-phonon problems. An important application is the increasing use of constrained Random Phase Approximation (cRPA) calculations of effective interactions. We find that their usage of Kohn-Sham energies already accounts for the leading local (excitonic) vertex correction in insulators.

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arXiv2021

Efficient fluctuation exchange approach to low-temperature spin fluctuations and superconductivity: from the Hubbard model to Na$_x$CoO$_2\cdot y$H$_2$O

Superconductivity arises mostly at energy and temperature scales that are much smaller than the typical bare electronic energies. Since the computational effort of diagrammatic many-body techniques increases with the number of required Matsubara frequencies and thus with the inverse temperature, phase transitions that occur at low temperatures are typically hard to address numerically. In this work, we implement a fluctuation exchange (FLEX) approach to spin fluctuations and superconductivity using the "intermediate representation basis" (IR) [Shinaoka et al., PRB 96, 2017] for Matsubara Green functions. This FLEX+IR approach is numerically very efficient and enables us to reach temperatures on the order of $10^{-4}$ in units of the electronic band width in multi-orbital systems. After benchmarking the method in the doped repulsive Hubbard model on the square lattice, we study the possibility of spin-fluctuation-mediated superconductivity in the hydrated sodium cobalt material Na$_x$CoO$_2\cdot y$H$_2$O reaching the scale of the experimental transition temperature $T_{\mathrm{c}}=4.5$ K and below.

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arXiv2021

Downfolding approaches to electron-ion coupling: Constrained density-functional perturbation theory for molecules

Constrained electronic-structure theories enable the construction of effective low-energy models consisting of partially dressed particles. However, the interpretation and physical content of these theories is not straightforward. Here, we carefully explore the properties of downfolding theories for electron-ion problems, in particular constrained density-functional perturbation theory (cDFPT). We show that the dipole selection rules determine whether the partially dressed phonons satisfy Goldstone's theorem, and we prove that electronic screening always lowers the phonon frequencies. We illustrate the theory with cDFPT calculations for minimal example systems: the nitrogen and benzene molecule as well as graphene.

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