25 pages, 22 figures. Lectures given at the CIFAR - PITP International Summer School on Numerical Methods for Correlated Systems in Condensed Matter, Sherbrooke, Canada, May 26 -- June 6 2008 (this version fixes typos and updates some notation)
These lecture notes provide an introduction to quantum cluster methods for strongly correlated systems. Cluster Perturbation Theory (CPT), the Variational Cluster Approximation (VCA) and Cellular Dynamical Mean Field Theory (CDMFT) are described, as well as the exact diagonalization solver for the cluster. Potthoff's self-energy functional formalism is reviewed. Some numerical procedures, in particular regarding the exact diagonalization method and the frequency-momentum integrals needed in VCA, are discussed in detail.
We study the single impurity Anderson model by means of cluster perturbation theory and the variational cluster approach (VCA). An expression for the VCA grand potential for a system in a non interacting bath is presented. Results for the single-particle dynamics in different parameter regimes are shown to be in good agreement with established renormalization group results. We aim at a broad and comprehensive overview of the capabilities and shortcomings of the methods. We address the question to what extent the elusive low energy properties of the model are reproducible within the framework o…
We study s-wave Cooper pairing in heavy-fermion systems. We analyze the periodic Anderson model by means of the variational cluster approach (VCA) focusing on the interorbital Cooper pairing between a conduction electron ($c$ electron) and an $f$ electron, called the "$c$-$f$ pairing." It is shown that the s-wave superconductivity appears coexisting with long-range antiferromagnetic order when electrons or holes are doped into the system at half filling. The antiferromagnetic order vanishes when the doping concentration exceeds a certain critical value, leading to a pure s-wave superconducting…
The variational cluster approach (VCA) is applied to study spontaneous ferromagnetism in the Hubbard model at zero temperature. We discuss several technical improvements of the numerical implementation of the VCA which become necessary for studies of a ferromagnetically ordered phase, e.g. more accurate techniques to evaluate the variational ground-state energy, improved local as well as global algorithms to find stationary points, and different methods to locate the magnetic phase transition. Using the single-site VCA, i.e. the dynamical impurity approximation (DIA), the ferromagnetic phase d…
We investigate in detail antiferromagnetic (AF) and superconducting (SC) phases as well as their coexistence in the two-dimensional Kondo lattice model on a square lattice, which is a paradigmatic model for heavy fermion materials. The results presented are mainly obtained using the variational cluster approximation (VCA) and are complemented by analytical findings for the equations of motion of pairing susceptibilities. A particularly interesting aspect is the possibility to have s-wave SC near half filling as reported by Bodensiek \textit{et al.} [Phys. Rev. Lett. \textbf{110}, 146406 (2013)…
We study the one-band Hubbard model on the trellis lattice, a two-dimensional frustrated lattice of coupled two-leg ladders, with hopping amplitude $t$ within ladders and $t'$ between ladders. For large $U/t$ this is a model for the cuprate Sr$_{14-x}$Ca$_x$Cu$_{24}$O$_{41}$. We investigate the phase diagram as a function of doping for $U=10t$ using two quantum cluster methods: The variational cluster approximation (VCA), with clusters of sizes 8 and 12, and Cellular dynamical mean field theory (CDMFT), both at zero temperature. Both methods predict a superconducting dome, ending at roughly 20…
Dynamical quantum-cluster approaches, such as different cluster extensions of the dynamical mean-field theory (cluster DMFT) or the variational cluster approximation (VCA), combined with efficient cluster solvers, such as the quantum Monte-Carlo (QMC) method, provide controlled approximations of the single-particle Green's function for lattice models of strongly correlated electrons. To access the thermodynamics, however, a thermodynamical potential is needed. We present an efficient numerical algorithm to compute the grand potential within cluster-embedding approaches that are based on novel …
In the quest for quantum spin liquids in three spatial dimensions (3D), we study the half-filled Hubbard model on the simple cubic lattice with hopping processes up to third neighbors. Employing the variational cluster approach (VCA), we determine the zero-temperature phase diagram: In addition to a paramagnetic metal at small interaction strength $U$ and various antiferromagnetic insulators at large $U$, we find an intermediate-$U$ antiferromagnetic metal. Most interestingly, we also identify a non-magnetic insulating region, extending from intermediate to strong $U$. Using VCA results in the…
We study the spinful fermionic Haldane-Hubbard model at half filling using a combination of quantum cluster methods: cluster perturbation theory (CPT), the variational cluster approximation (VCA), and cluster dynamical mean-field theory (CDMFT). We explore possible zero-temperature phases of the model as a function of on-site repulsive interaction strength and next-nearest-neighbor hopping amplitude and phase. Our approach allows us to access the regime of intermediate interaction strength, where charge fluctuations are significant and effective spin model descriptions may not be justified. Ou…
We investigate the ground-state properties of the Anderson single impurity model (finite Coulomb impurity repulsion) with the Coupled Cluster Method. We consider different CCM reference states and approximation schemes and make comparison with exact Green's function results for the non-interacting model and with Brillouin-Wigner perturbation theory for the full interacting model. Our results show that coupled cluster techniques are well suited to quantum impurity problems.
