arXiv subjects

M. Imada

Publications and source records attributed to M. Imada.

14 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2022

Exciton dynamics uncovering electron fractionalization in superconducting cuprates

Electron quasiparticles play a crucial role in simplifying the description of many-body physics in solids with surprising success. Conventional Landau's Fermi-liquid and quasiparticle theories for high-temperature superconducting cuprates have, however, received skepticism from various angles. A path-breaking framework of electron fractionalization has been established to replace the Fermi-liquid theory for systems that show the fractional quantum Hall effect and the Mott insulating phenomena; whether it captures the essential physics of the pseudogap and superconducting phases of cuprates is still an open issue. Here, we show that excitonic excitation of optimally doped Bi$_2$Sr$_2$CaCu$_2$O$_{8+\delta}$ with energy far above the superconducting-gap energy scale, about 1 eV or even higher, is unusually enhanced by the onset of superconductivity. Our finding proves the involvement of such high-energy excitons in superconductivity. Therefore, the observed enhancement in the spectral weight of excitons imposes a crucial constraint on theories for the pseudogap and superconducting mechanisms. A simple two-component fermion model which embodies electron fractionalization in the pseudogap state well explains the change, pointing toward a novel route for understanding the electronic structure of superconducting cuprates.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2018

Pseudogap in electron-doped cuprates: Strong correlation leading to band splitting

The pseudogap phenomena have been a long-standing mystery of the cuprate high-temperature superconductors. The pseudogap in the electron-doped cuprates has been attributed to band folding due to antiferromagnetic (AFM) long-range order or short-range correlation. We performed an angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) study of the electron-doped cuprates Pr$_{1.3-x}$La$_{0.7}$Ce$_x$CuO$_4$ showing spin-glass, disordered AFM behaviors, and superconductivity at low temperatures and, by measurements with fine momentum cuts, found that the gap opens on the unfolded Fermi surface rather than the AFM Brillouin zone boundary. The gap did not show a node, following the full symmetry of the Brillouin zone, and its magnitude decreased from the zone-diagonal to ($\pi$,0) directions, opposite to the hole-doped case. These observations were reproduced by cluster dynamical-mean-field-theory (CDMFT) calculation, which took into account electron correlation precisely within a (CuO$_2$)$_4$ cluster. The present experimental and theoretical results are consistent with the mechanism that electron or hole doping into a Mott insulator creates an in-gap band that are separated from the upper or lower Hubbard band by the pseudogap.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2013

Exploring the Dark Side of Cuprate Superconductors: s-wave Symmetry of the Pseudogap

We reveal the full energy-momentum structure of the pseudogap of underdoped high-Tc cuprate superconductors. Our combined theoretical and experimental analysis explains the spectral-weight suppression observed in the B2g Raman response at finite energies in terms of a pseudogap appearing in the single-electron excitation spectra above the Fermi level in the nodal direction of momentum space. This result suggests an s-wave pseudogap (which never closes in the energy-momentum space), distinct from the d-wave superconducting gap. Recent tunneling and photoemission experiments on underdoped cuprates also find a natural explanation within the s-wave-pseudogap scenario.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2012

{\it Ab initio} Studies on the Interplay between Spin-Orbit Interaction and Coulomb Correlation in Sr$_2$IrO$_4$ and Ba$_2$IrO$_4$

{\it Ab initio} analyses of A$_2$IrO$_4$ (A=Sr, Ba) are presented. Effective Hubbard-type models for Ir 5$d$ $t_{2g}$ manifolds downfolded from the global band structure are solved based on the dynamical mean-field theory. The results for A=Sr and Ba correctly reproduce paramagnetic metals undergoing continuous transitions to insulators below the Néel temperature $T_N$. These compounds are classified not into Mott insulators but into Slater insulators. However, the insulating gap opens by a synergy of the Neel order and significant band renormalization, which is also manifested by a 2D bad metallic behavior in the paramagnetic phase near the quantum criticality.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2004

Screening of Coulomb interactions in transition metals

We discuss different methods of calculation of the screened Coulomb interaction $U$ in transition metals and compare the constraint local-density approximation (LDA) with the GW approach. We clarify that they offer complementary methods of treating the screening and should serve for different purposes. In the GW method, the renormalization of bare on-site Coulomb interactions between 3d electrons occurs mainly through the screening by the same 3d electrons, treated in the random phase approximation (RPA). The basic difference of the constraint-LDA method is that it deals with the neutral processes, where the Coulomb interactions are additionally screened by the ``excited'' electron, since it continues to stay in the system. This is the main channel of screening by the itinerant ($4sp$) electrons, which is especially strong in the case of transition metals and missing in the GW approach, although the details of this screening may be affected by additional approximations, which typically supplement these two methods. The major drawback of the conventional constraint-LDA method is that it does not allow to treat the energy-dependence of $U$. We propose a promising approximation based on the combination of these two methods. First, we take into account the screening of Coulomb interactions in the 3d-electron-line bands located near the Fermi level by the states from the subspace being orthogonal to these bands, using the constraint-LDA methods. The obtained interactions are further renormalized within the bands near the Fermi level in RPA. This allows the energy-dependent screening by electrons near the Fermi level including the same 3d electrons.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2004

Frequency-dependent local interactions and low-energy effective models from electronic structure calculations

We propose a systematic procedure for constructing effective models of strongly correlated materials. The parameters, in particular the on-site screened Coulomb interaction U, are calculated from first principles, using the GW approximation. We derive an expression for the frequency-dependent U and show that its high frequency part has significant influence on the spectral functions. We propose a scheme for taking into account the energy dependence of U, so that a model with an energy-independent local interaction can still be used for low-energy properties.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2001

Competition between spin exchange and correlated hopping

The ground-state phase diagram is numerically studied for an electronic model consisting of the spin exchange term (J) and the correlated hopping term (t_3: the three-site term). This model has no single-particle hopping and the ratio of the two terms is controlled by a parameter α\equiv 4 t_3 / J. The case of α=1 corresponds to complete suppression of single-particle hopping in the strong-coupling limit of the Hubbard model. In one dimension, phase separation takes place below a critical value α_c = 0.36-0.63 which depends on the electron density. Spin gap opens in the whole region except the phase-separated one. For α\gsim 1.2 and low hole densities, charge-density-wave correlations are the most dominant, whereas singlet-pairing correlations are the most dominant in the remaining region. The possibility of superconductivity in the two-dimensional case is also discussed, based on equal-time pairing correlations.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv1998

Hole Dynamics in Two-Dimensional Antiferromagnetic Mott Insulators

The dispersion relation of a doped hole in the half-filled 2D Hubbard model is shown to follow a k^4 law around the (0,pi) and (pi,0) points in the Brillouin zone. Upon addition of pair-hopping processes this dispersion relation is unstable towards a k^2 law. The above follows from T=0 Quantum Monte calculations of the single particle spectral function A(k, omega) on 16 X 16 lattices. We discuss finite dopings and argue that the added term restores coherence to charge dynamics and drives the system towards a d_x^2 - y^2 superconductor.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv1997

Doping induced metal-insulator transition in two-dimensional Hubbard, $t-U$, and extended Hubbard, $t-U-W$, models

We show numerically that the nature of the doping induced metal-insulator transition in the two-dimensional Hubbard model is radically altered by the inclusion of a term, $W$, which depends upon a square of a single-particle nearest-neighbor hopping. This result is reached by computing the localization length, $ξ_l$, in the insulating state. At finite values of $W$ we find results consistent with $ξ_l \sim | μ- μ_c|^{- 1/2} $ where $μ_c$ is the critical chemical potential. In contrast, $ξ_l \sim | μ- μ_c|^{-1/4}$ for the Hubbard model. At finite values of $W$, the presented numerical results imply that doping the antiferromagnetic Mott insulator leads to a $d_{x^2 - y ^2}$ superconductor.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv1997

Charge and Spin Structures of a $d_{x^2 - y^2}$ Superconductor in the Proximity of an Antiferromagnetic Mott Insulator

To the Hubbard model on a square lattice we add an interaction, $W$, which depends upon the square of a near-neighbor hopping. We use zero temperature quantum Monte Carlo simulations on lattice sizes up to $16 \times 16$, to show that at half-filling and constant value of the Hubbard repulsion, the interaction $W$ triggers a quantum transition between an antiferromagnetic Mott insulator and a $d_{x^2 -y^2}$ superconductor. With a combination of finite temperature quantum Monte Carlo simulations and the Maximum Entropy method, we study spin and charge degrees of freedom in the superconducting state. We give numerical evidence for the occurrence of a finite temperature Kosterlitz-Thouless transition to the $d_{x^2 -y^2}$ superconducting state. Above and below the Kosterlitz-Thouless transition temperature, $T_{KT}$, we compute the one-electron density of states, $N(ω)$, the spin relaxation rate $1/T_1$, as well as the imaginary and real part of the spin susceptibility $χ(\vec{q},ω)$. The spin dynamics are characterized by the vanishing of $1/T_1$ and divergence of $Re χ(\vec{q} = (π,π), ω= 0)$ in the low temperature limit. As $T_{KT}$ is approached $N(ω)$ develops a pseudo-gap feature and below $T_{KT}$ $Im χ(\vec{q} = (π,π), ω)$ shows a peak at finite frequency.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv1997

Spin-gap phase in nearly-half-filled one-dimensional conductors coupled with phonons

Asymptotic properties of nearly-half-filled one-dimensional conductors coupled with phonons are studied through a renormalization group method. Due to spin-charge coupling via electron-phonon interaction, the spin correlation varies with filling as well as the charge correlation. Depending on the relation between cut-off energy scales of the Umklapp process and of the electron-phonon interaction, various phases appear. We found a metallic phase with a spin gap and a dominant charge- density-wave correlation near half filling between a gapless density-wave phase (like in the doped repulsive Hubbard model) and a superconductor phase with a spin gap. The spin gap is produced by phonon-assisted backward scatterings which are interfered with the Umklapp process constructively or destructively depending on the character of electron-phonon coupling.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv1996

Quantum Transition between an Antiferromagnetic Mott Insulator and $d_{x^2 - y^2}$ Superconductor in Two Dimensions

We consider a Hubbard model on a square lattice with an additional interaction, $W$, which depends upon the square of a near-neighbor hopping. At half-filling and a constant value of the Hubbard repulsion, increasing the strength of the interaction $W$ drives the system from an antiferromagnetic Mott insulator to a $d_{x^2 -y^2}$ superconductor. This conclusion is reached on the basis of zero temperature quantum Monte Carlo simulations on lattice sizes up to $16 \times 16$.

cond-mat↗

arXiv1995

Insulator-Metal Transition in the One and Two-Dimensional Hubbard Models

We use Quantum Monte Carlo methods to determine $T=0$ Green functions, $G(\vec{r}, ω)$, on lattices up to $16 \times 16$ for the 2D Hubbard model at $U/t =4$. For chemical potentials, $μ$, within the Hubbard gap, $ |μ| < μ_c$, and at {\it long} distances, $\vec{r}$, $G(\vec{r}, ω= μ) \sim e^{ -|\vec{r}|/ξ_l}$ with critical behavior: $ξ_l \sim | μ- μ_c |^{-ν}$, $ ν= 0.26 \pm 0.05$. This result stands in agreement with the assumption of hyperscaling with correlation exponent $ν= 1/4$ and dynamical exponent $z = 4$. In contrast, the generic band insulator as well as the metal-insulator transition in the 1D Hubbard model are characterized by $ν= 1/2$ and $z = 2$.

cond-mat↗

arXiv1995

Stable Quantum Monte Carlo Algorithm for $T=0$ Calculation of Imaginary Time Green Functions

We present a numerically stable Quantum Monte Carlo algorithm to calculate zero-temperature imaginary-time Green functions $ G(\vec{r}, τ) $ for Hubbard type models. We illustrate the efficiency of the algorithm by calculating the on-site Green function $ G(\vec{r}=0, τ) $ on $4 \times 4$ to $12 \times 12$ lattices for the two-dimensional half-filled repulsive Hubbard model at $U/t = 4$. By fitting the tail of $ G(\vec{r}=0, τ) $ at long imaginary time to the form $e^{-τΔ_c}$, we obtain a precise estimate of the charge gap: $Δ_c = 0.67 \pm 0.02$ in units of the hopping matrix element. We argue that the algorithm provides a powerful tool to study the metal-insulator transition from the insulator side.

cond-mat↗