arXiv subjects

T. Schäfer

Publications and source records attributed to T. Schäfer.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Magnetic quantum criticality: The role of the Fermi surface geometry

We investigate magnetic quantum phase-transitions in bulk correlated metals. To this end, we focus on the Hubbard model on different cubic lattices as a function of temperature and electronic density, determining the relevant regimes around its quantum magnetic transition, i.e. classical, quantum critical, and quantum disordered, as well as the corresponding (thermal/non-thermal) quantum critical exponents. Our numerical results, based on dynamical mean-field theory, together with supporting analytical derivations, rigorously demonstrate how and why the presence of different kinds of Kohn anomalies on the underlying Fermi surface (i) drives the quantum critical behavior above the quantum critical point and (ii) shapes the whole phase diagram around it. Our findings highlight the importance of an explicit inclusion of such Fermi surface geometrical properties into the universality class definition for magnetic quantum phase-transitions in correlated metals.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2025

Two distinct quantum critical behaviors in the doped two-dimensional periodic Anderson model

We study quantum criticality in the doped two-dimensional periodic Anderson model with the hybridization acting as a tuning parameter. Employing the dynamical vertex approximation we find two distinct quantum critical behaviors. One is a quantum critical point between the antiferromagnetically ordered and the Kondo state, both metallic with itinerant $f$ electrons. Here, we obtained the critical exponent $γ\approx 1$ for the temperature dependence of the antiferromagnetic susceptibility. We observe a \emph{second} quantum critical behavior with $γ=2$ above the continuing zero-temperature magnetic order, at a quantum critical point where the $f$ electrons turn from localized to itinerant.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2024

Thermodynamic Stability at the Two-Particle Level

We show how the stability conditions for a system of interacting fermions that conventionally involve variations of thermodynamic potentials can be rewritten in terms of one- and two-particle correlators. We illustrate the applicability of this alternative formulation in a multi-orbital model of strongly correlated electrons at finite temperatures, inspecting the lowest eigenvalues of the generalized local charge susceptibility in proximity of the phase-separation region. Additionally to the conventional unstable branches, we address unstable solutions possessing a positive, rather than negative compressibility. Our stability conditions require no derivative of free energy functions with conceptual and practical advantages for actual calculations and offer a clear-cut criterion for analyzing the thermodynamics of correlated complex systems.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2023

Symmetry-broken perturbation theory to large orders in antiferromagnetic phases

We introduce a spin-symmetry-broken extension of the connected determinant algorithm [Phys. Rev. Lett. 119, 045701 (2017)]. The resulting systematic perturbative expansions around an antiferromagnetic state allow for numerically exact calculations directly inside a magnetically ordered phase. We show new precise results for the magnetic phase diagram and thermodynamics of the three-dimensional cubic Hubbard model at half-filling. With detailed computations of the order parameter in the low to intermediate-coupling regime, we establish the N{é}el phase boundary. The critical behavior in its vicinity is shown to be compatible with the $O(3)$ Heisenberg universality class. By determining the evolution of the entropy with decreasing temperature through the phase transition we identify the different physical regimes at $U/t\!=\!4$. We provide quantitative results for several thermodynamic quantities deep inside the antiferromagnetic dome up to large interaction strengths and investigate the crossover between the Slater and Heisenberg regimes.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2022

QCD Phase Structure and Interactions at High Baryon Density: Continuation of BES Physics Program with CBM at FAIR

We advocate for an active US participation in the international collaboration of the CBM experiment that will allow the US nuclear physics program to build on its successful exploration of the QCD phase diagram, use the expertise gained at RHIC to make complementary measurements at FAIR, and contribute to achieving the scientific goals of the beam energy scan (BES) program.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2021

Magnetic correlations in infinite-layer nickelates: an experimental and theoretical multi-method study

We report a comprehensive study of magnetic correlations in LaNiO$_{2}$, a parent compound of the recently discovered family of infinite-layer (IL) nickelate superconductors, using multiple experimental and theoretical methods. Our specific heat, muon-spin rotation ($μ$SR), and magnetic susceptibility measurements on polycrystalline LaNiO$_{2}$ show that long-range magnetic order remains absent down to 2 K. Nevertheless, we detect residual entropy in the low-temperature specific heat, which is compatible with a model fit that includes paramagnon excitations. The $μ$SR and low-field static and dynamic magnetic susceptibility measurements indicate the presence of short-range magnetic correlations and glassy spin dynamics, which we attribute to local oxygen non-stoichiometry in the average infinite-layer crystal structure. This glassy behavior can be suppressed in strong external fields, allowing us to extract the intrinsic paramagnetic susceptibility. Remarkably, we find that the intrinsic susceptibility shows non-Curie-Weiss behavior at high temperatures, in analogy to doped cuprates that possess robust non-local spin fluctuations. The distinct temperature dependence of the intrinsic susceptibility of LaNiO$_{2}$ can be theoretically understood by a multi-method study of the single-band Hubbard model in which we apply complementary cutting-edge quantum many-body techniques (dynamical mean-field theory, cellular dynamical mean-field theory and the dynamical vertex approximation) to investigate the influence of both short- and long-ranged correlations. Our results suggest a profound analogy between the magnetic correlations in parent (undoped) IL nickelates and doped cuprates.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2021

How to read between the lines of electronic spectra: the diagnostics of fluctuations in strongly correlated electron systems

While calculations and measurements of single-particle spectral properties often offer the most direct route to study correlated electron systems, the underlying physics may remain quite elusive, if information at higher particle levels is not explicitly included. Here, we present a comprehensive overview of the different approaches which have been recently developed and applied to identify the dominant two-particle scattering processes controlling the shape of the one-particle spectral functions and, in some cases, of the physical response of the system. In particular, we will discuss the underlying general idea, the common threads and the specific peculiarities of all the proposed approaches. While all of them rely on a selective analysis of the Schwinger-Dyson (or the Bethe-Salpeter) equation, the methodological differences originate from the specific two-particle vertex functions to be computed and decomposed. Finally, we illustrate the potential strength of these methodologies by means of their applications the two-dimensional Hubbard model, and we provide an outlook over the future perspective and developments of this route for understanding the physics of correlated electrons.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2020

Dynamics of critical fluctuations: Theory -- phenomenology -- heavy-ion collisions

This report summarizes the presentations and discussions during the Rapid Reaction Task Force "Dynamics of critical fluctuations: Theory -- phenomenology -- heavy-ion collisions", which was organized by the ExtreMe Matter Institute EMMI and held at GSI, Darmstadt, Germany in April 2019. We address the current understanding of the dynamics of critical fluctuations in QCD and their measurement in heavy-ion collision experiments. In addition, we outline what might be learned from studying correlations in other physical systems, such as cold atomic gases.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2019

Quantum criticality in the two-dimensional periodic Anderson model

We study the phase diagram and quantum critical region of one of the fundamental models for electronic correlations: the periodic Anderson model. Employing the recently developed dynamical vertex approximation, we find a phase transition between a zero-temperature antiferromagnetic insulator and a Kondo insulator. In the quantum critical region, we determine a critical exponent $γ\!=\!2$ for the antiferromagnetic susceptibility. At higher temperatures, we have free spins with $γ\!=\!1$ instead, whereas at lower temperatures, there is an even stronger increase and suppression of the susceptibility below and above the quantum critical point, respectively.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2018

Divergences of the irreducible vertex functions in correlated metallic systems: Insights from the Anderson Impurity Model

In this work, we analyze in detail the occurrence of divergences in the irreducible vertex functions for one of the fundamental models of many-body physics: the Anderson impurity model (AIM). These divergences -- a surprising hallmark of the breakdown of many-electron perturbation theory -- have been recently observed in several contexts, including the dynamical mean-field solution of the Hubbard model. The numerical calculations for the AIM presented in this work, as well as their comparison with the corresponding results for the Hubbard model, allow us to clarify several open questions about the origin and the properties of vertex divergences in a particularly interesting context, the correlated metallic regime at low-temperatures. Specifically, our analysis (i) rules out explicitly the transition to a Mott insulating phase, but not the more general suppression of charge fluctuations (proposed in [Phys.\,Rev.\,B {\bf 93},\,245102\,(2016)]), as a necessary condition for the occurrence of vertex divergences, (ii) clarifies their relation with the underlying Kondo physics, and, eventually, (iii) individuates which divergences might also appear on the real frequency axis in the limit of zero temperature, through the discovered scaling properties of the singular eigenvectors.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2017

Complementary views on electron spectra: From Fluctuation Diagnostics to real space correlations

We study the relation between the microscopic properties of a many-body system and the electron spectra, experimentally accessible by photoemission. In a recent paper [Phys. Rev. Lett. 114, 236402 (2015)], we introduced the "fluctuation diagnostics" approach, to extract the dominant wave vector dependent bosonic fluctuations from the electronic self-energy. Here, we first reformulate the theory in terms of fermionic modes, to render its connection with resonance valence bond (RVB) fluctuations more transparent. Secondly, by using a large-U expansion, where U is the Coulomb interaction, we relate the fluctuations to real space correlations. Therefore, it becomes possible to study how electron spectra are related to charge, spin, superconductivity and RVB-like real space correlations, broadening the analysis of an earlier work [Phys. Rev. B 89, 245130 (2014)]. This formalism is applied to the pseudogap physics of the two-dimensional Hubbard model, studied in the dynamical cluster approximation. We perform calculations for embedded clusters with up to 32 sites, having three inequivalent K-points at the Fermi surface. We find that as U is increased, correlation functions gradually attain values consistent with an RVB state. This first happens for correlation functions involving the antinodal point and gradually spreads to the nodal point along the Fermi surface. Simultaneously a pseudogap opens up along the Fermi surface. We relate this to a crossover from a Kondo-like state to an RVB-like localized cluster state and to the presence of RVB and spin fluctuations. These changes are caused by a strong momentum dependence in the cluster bath-couplings along the Fermi surface. We also show, from a more algorithmic perspective, how the time-consuming calculations in fluctuation diagnostics can be drastically simplified.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2017

Quantum criticality with a twist - interplay of correlations and Kohn anomalies in three dimensions

A general understanding of quantum phase transitions in strongly correlated materials is still lacking. By exploiting a cutting-edge quantum many-body approach, the dynamical vertex approximation, we make an important progress, determining the quantum critical properties of the antiferromagnetic transition in the fundamental model for correlated electrons, the Hubbard model in three dimensions. In particular, we demonstrate that -in contradiction to the conventional Hertz-Millis-Moriya theory- its quantum critical behavior is driven by the Kohn anomalies of the Fermi surface, even when electronic correlations become strong.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2017

Longitudinal and transverse structure functions in high Reynolds-number magneto-hydrodynamic turbulence

We investigate the scaling behavior of longitudinal and transverse structure functions in homogeneous and isotropic magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence by means of an exact hierarchy of structure function equations as well as by direct numerical simulations of two- and three-dimensional MHD turbulence. In particular, rescaling relations between longitudinal and transverse structure functions are derived and utilized in order to compare different scaling behavior in the inertial range. It is found that there are no substantial differences between longitudinal and transverse structure functions in MHD turbulence. This finding stands in contrast to the case of hydrodynamic turbulence which shows persistent differences even at high Reynolds numbers. We propose a physical picture that is based on an effective reduction of pressure contributions due to local regions of same magnitude and alignment of velocity and magnetic field fluctuations. Finally, our findings underline the importance of the pressure term for the actually observed scaling differences in hydrodynamic turbulence.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2017

Breakdown of traditional many-body theories for correlated electrons

Starting from the (Hubbard) model of an atom, we demonstrate that the uniqueness of the mapping from the interacting to the noninteracting Green's function, $G\to G_0$, is strongly violated, by providing numerous explicit examples of different $G_0$ leading to the same physical $G$. We argue that there are indeed infinitely many such $G_0$, with numerous crossings with the physical solution. We show that this rich functional structure is directly related to the divergence of certain classes of (irreducible vertex) diagrams, with important consequences for traditional many-body physics based on diagrammatic expansions. Physically, we ascribe the onset of these highly non-perturbative manifestations to the progressive suppression of the charge susceptibility induced by the formation of local magnetic moments and/or RVB states in strongly correlated electron systems.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2016

Non-perturbative landscape of the Mott-Hubbard transition: Multiple divergence lines around the critical endpoint

We analyze the highly non-perturbative regime surrounding the Mott-Hubbard metal-to-insulator transition (MIT) by means of dynamical mean field theory calculations at the two-particle level. By extending the results of Schäfer, et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 246405 (2013)] we show the existence of infinitely many lines in the phase diagram of the Hubbard model where the local Bethe-Salpeter equations, and the related irreducible vertex functions, become singular in the charge as well as the particle-particle channel. These divergence lines accumulate around the critical Mott endpoint in accordance with the interpretation as precursors of the MIT. By comparing our numerical data with analytical calculations of increasing complexity, such as for the disordered Binary Mixture and Falicov-Kimball (FK) models, as well as for the atomic limit (AL) case, (i) we identify two different kinds of divergences lines; (ii) we classify them in terms of the frequency-structure of the associated singular eigenvectors; (iii) we investigate their relation to the multiple branches in the Luttinger-Ward formalism. Moreover, we could distinguish the situations where the multiple divergences simply reflect the emergence of an underlying, unique energy scale $ν^*$ below which perturbation theory does no longer apply, from those where the breakdown of perturbation theory affects, not trivially, different energy regimes. Finally, we discuss the implications of our results on the theoretical understanding of the non-perturbative physics around the MIT and for future developments of many-body algorithms applicable in this regime.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2016

Parquet decomposition calculations of the electronic self-energy

The parquet decomposition of the self-energy into classes of diagrams, those associated with specific scattering processes, can be exploited for different scopes. In this work, the parquet decomposition is used to unravel the underlying physics of non-perturbative numerical calculations. We show the specific example of dynamical mean field theory (DMFT) and its cluster extensions (DCA) applied to the Hubbard model at half-filling and with hole doping: These techniques allow for a simultaneous determination of two-particle vertex functions and self-energies, and hence, for an essentially "exact" parquet decomposition at the single-site or at the cluster level. Our calculations show that the self-energies in the underdoped regime are dominated by spin scattering processes, consistent with the conclusions obtained by means of the fluctuation diagnostics approach [Phys. Rev. Lett. 114, 236402 (2015)]. However, differently from the latter approach, the parquet procedure displays important changes with increasing interaction: Even for relatively moderate couplings, well before the Mott transition, singularities appear in different terms, with the notable exception of the predominant spin-channel. We explain precisely how these singularities, which partly limit the utility of the parquet decomposition, and - more generally - of parquet-based algorithms, are never found in the fluctuation diagnostics procedure. Finally, by a more refined analysis, we link the occurrence of the parquet singularities in our calculations to a progressive suppression of charge fluctuations and the formation of an RVB state, which are typical hallmarks of a pseudogap state in DCA.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2015

Dynamical vertex approximation in its parquet implementation: application to Hubbard nano-rings

We have implemented the dynamical vertex approximation (D$Γ$A) in its full parquet-based version to include spatial correlations on all length scales and in {\sl all} scattering channels. The algorithm is applied to study the electronic self-energies and the spectral properties of finite-size one-dimensional Hubbard models with periodic boundary conditions (nanoscopic Hubbard rings). From a methodological point of view, our calculations and their comparison to the results obtained within dynamical mean-field theory, plain parquet approximation, and the exact numerical solution, allow us to evaluate the performance of the D$Γ$A algorithm in the most challenging situation of low dimensions. From a physical perspective, our results unveil how non-local correlations affect the spectral properties of nanoscopic systems of various sizes in different regimes of interaction strength.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2014

Fate of the false Mott-Hubbard transition in two dimensions

We have studied the impact of non-local electronic correlations at all length scales on the Mott-Hubbard metal-insulator transition in the unfrustrated two-dimensional Hubbard model. Combining dynamical vertex approximation, lattice quantum Monte-Carlo and variational cluster approximation, we demonstrate that scattering at long-range fluctuations, i.e., Slater-like paramagnons, opens a spectral gap at weak-to-intermediate coupling -- irrespectively of the preformation of localized or short-ranged magnetic moments. This is the reason, why the two-dimensional Hubbard model is insulating at low enough temperatures for any (finite) interaction and no Mott-Hubbard transition is observed.

cond-mat.str-el↗