Observation of Spatial Charge and Spin Correlations in the 2D Fermi-Hubbard Model
Lawrence W. Cheuk, Matthew A. Nichols, Katherine R. Lawrence, Melih Okan, Hao Zhang, Ehsan Khatami, Nandini Trivedi, Thereza Paiva, Marcos Rigol, Martin W. Zwierlein
Strong electron correlations lie at the origin of transformative phenomena such as colossal magneto-resistance and high-temperature superconductivity. Already near room temperature, doped copper oxide materials display remarkable features such as a pseudo-gap and a "strange metal" phase with unusual transport properties. The essence of this physics is believed to be captured by the Fermi-Hubbard model of repulsively interacting, itinerant fermions on a lattice. Here we report on the site-resolved observation of charge and spin correlations in the two-dimensional (2D) Fermi-Hubbard model realized with ultracold atoms. Antiferromagnetic spin correlations are maximal at half-filling and weaken monotonically upon doping. Correlations between singly charged sites are negative at large doping, revealing the Pauli and correlation hole\textemdash a suppressed probability of finding two fermions near each other. However, as the doping is reduced below a critical value, correlations between such local magnetic moments become positive, signaling strong bunching of doublons and holes. Excellent agreement with numerical linked-cluster expansion (NLCE) and determinantal quantum Monte Carlo (DQMC) calculations is found. Positive non-local moment correlations directly imply potential energy fluctuations due to doublon-hole pairs, which should play an important role for transport in the Fermi-Hubbard model.
Utilizing the Fermi gas microscope, recently the MIT group has measured the spin transport of the Fermi Hubbard model starting from a spin-density-wave state, and the Princeton group has measured the charge transport of the Fermi Hubbard model starting from a charge-density-wave state. Motivated by these two experiments, we prove a theorem that shows under certain conditions, the spin and charge transports can be equivalent to each other. The proof makes use of the particle-hole transformation of the Fermi Hubbard model and a recently discovered symmetry protected dynamical symmetry. Our resul…
We report on the single atom and single site-resolved detection of the total density in a cold atom realization of the 2D Fermi-Hubbard model. Fluorescence imaging of doublons is achieved by splitting each lattice site into a double well, thereby separating atom pairs. Full density readout yields a direct measurement of the equation of state, including direct thermometry via the fluctuation-dissipation theorem. Site-resolved density correlations reveal the Pauli hole at low filling, and strong doublon-hole correlations near half filling. These are shown to account for the difference between lo…
The nonequilibrium variational-cluster approach is applied to study the real-time dynamics of the double occupancy in the one-dimensional Fermi-Hubbard model after different fast changes of hopping parameters. A simple reference system, consisting of isolated Hubbard dimers, is used to discuss different aspects of the numerical implementation of the approach in the general framework of nonequilibrium self-energy functional theory. Opposed to a direct solution of the Euler equation, its time derivative is found to serve as numerically tractable and stable conditional equation to fix the time-de…
Phase transitions in systems described by Bose-Fermi-Hubbard model on a lattice with two nonequivalent sublattices are investigated in this work. The case of hard-core bosons is considered and pseudospin formalism is used. Phase diagrams are built in the plain of chemical potential of the bosons-bosonic hopping parameter. It is shown that in the case of anisotropic hopping, the region of the supersolid phase existence is possible for a smaller parameter space.
Motivated by exploring the effect of interactions on Chern insulators, and by recent experiments realizing topological bands for ultracold atoms in synthetic gauge fields, we study the honeycomb lattice Haldane-Hubbard model of spin-$1/2$ fermions. Using an unrestricted mean field approach, we map out the instability of the topological band insulator towards magnetically ordered insulators which emerge with increasing Hubbard repulsion. In addition to the topological Néel phase, we recover various chiral noncoplanar magnetic orders previously identified within a strong coupling approach. We co…
We consider a one-dimensional two component extended Fermi-Hubbard model with nearest neighbor interactions and mass imbalance between the two species. We study the stability of trimers, various observables for detecting them, and expansion dynamics. We generalize the definition of the trimer gap to include the formation of different types of clusters originating from nearest neighbor interactions. Expansion dynamics reveal rapidly propagating trimers, with speeds exceeding doublon propagation in strongly interacting regime. We present a simple model for understanding this unique feature of th…
Ground state properties of the repulsive Hubbard model on a cubic lattice are investigated by means of the auxiliary-field quantum Monte Carlo method. We focus on low-density systems with varying on-site interaction $U/t$, as a model relevant to recent experiments on itinerant ferromagnetism in a dilute Fermi gas with contact interaction. Twist-average boundary conditions are used to eliminate open-shell effects and large lattice sizes are studied to reduce finite-size effects. The sign problem is controlled by a generalized constrained path approximation. We find no ferromagnetic phase transi…
We study strongly correlated Hubbard systems extended to symmetric $N$-component fermions. We focus on the intermediate-temperature regime between magnetic superexchange and interaction energy, which is relevant to current ultracold fermionic atom experiments. The $N$-component fermions are represented by slave particles, and, by using a diagrammatic technique based on the atomic limit, spectral functions are analytically obtained as a function of temperature, filling factor and the component number $N$. We also apply this analytical technique to the calculation of lattice modulation experimen…
We study thermodynamic properties of the doped Hubbard model on the square lattice in the regime of strong charge and spin fluctuations at low temperatures near the metal-to-insulator crossover and obtain results with controlled accuracy using the diagrammatic Monte Carlo method directly in the thermodynamic limit. The behavior of the entropy reveals a non-Fermi-liquid state at sufficiently high interactions near half-filling: a maximum in the entropy at non-zero doping develops as the coupling strength is increased, along with an inflection point, evidencing a metal to non-Fermi-liquid crosso…
This paper analyzes dynamical properties of small Fermi-Hubbard and Bose-Hubbard systems, focusing on the structure of the underlying Hilbert space. We evaluate time-dependent quantities such as the return probability to the initial state and the spin imbalance of spin-1/2 fermions. The results are compared with recent experimental observations in ultracold gases. For the symmetric two-site Fermi-Hubbard model we find that the spin imbalance and the return probability are controlled by two and three frequencies, respectively. The spin imbalance and the return probability are identical for the …
Recently, it has been shown that the momentum distribution of a metallic state of fermionic atoms in a lattice Fermi-Bose mixture exhibits coherent oscillations after a global quench that suppresses tunneling. The oscillation period is determined by the Fermi-Bose interaction strength. Here we show that similar dynamics occurs in the fermionic Hubbard model when we quench a noninteracting metallic state by introducing a Hubbard interaction and suppressing tunneling. The period is determined primarily by the interaction strength. Conversely, we show that one can accurately determine the Hubbard…
Expansion dynamics of interacting fermions in a lattice are simulated within the one-dimensional (1D) Hubbard model, using the essentially exact time-evolving block decimation (TEBD) method. In particular, the expansion of an initial band-insulator state is considered. We analyze the simulation results based on the dynamics of a two-site two-particle system, the so-called Hubbard dimer. Our findings describe essential features of a recent experiment on the expansion of a Fermi gas in a two-dimensional lattice. We show that the Hubbard-dimer dynamics, combined with a two-fluid model for the pai…
The Fermi-Hubbard model is a key concept in condensed matter physics and provides crucial insights into electronic and magnetic properties of materials. Yet, the intricate nature of Fermi systems poses a barrier to answer important questions concerning d-wave superconductivity and quantum magnetism. Recently, it has become possible to experimentally realize the Fermi-Hubbard model using a fermionic quantum gas loaded into an optical lattice. In this atomic approach to the Fermi-Hubbard model the Hamiltonian is a direct result of the optical lattice potential created by interfering laser fields…
We use the dual boson approach to reveal the phase diagram of the Fermi-Hubbard model with long-range dipole-dipole interactions. By using a large-scale finite-temperature calculation on a $64 \times 64$ square lattice we demonstrate the existence of a novel phase, possessing an `ultralong-range' order. The fingerprint of this phase -- the density correlation function -- features a non-trivial behavior on a scale of tens of the lattice sites. We study the properties and the stability of the ultralong-range ordered phase, and show that it is accessible in modern experiments with ultracold polar…
We investigate the decay of highly excited states of ultracold fermions in a three-dimensional optical lattice. Starting from a repulsive Fermi-Hubbard system near half filling, we generate additional doubly occupied sites (doublons) by lattice modulation. The subsequent relaxation back to thermal equilibrium is monitored over time. The measured doublon lifetime covers two orders of magnitude. In units of the tunneling time h/J it is found to depend exponentially on the ratio of on-site interaction energy U to kinetic energy J. We argue that the dominant mechanism for the relaxation is a high …
We experimentally and numerically investigate the sudden expansion of fermions in a homogeneous one-dimensional optical lattice. For initial states with an appreciable amount of doublons, we observe a dynamical phase separation between rapidly expanding singlons and slow doublons remaining in the trap center, realizing the key aspect of fermionic quantum distillation in the strongly-interacting limit. For initial states without doublons, we find a reduced interaction dependence of the asymptotic expansion speed compared to bosons, which is explained by the interaction energy produced in the qu…
We address the effects of quenched disorder averaging in the time-evolution of systems of ultracold atoms in optical lattices in the presence of noise, imposed by of an environment. For bosonic systems governed by the Bose-Hubbard Hamiltonian, we quantify the response of disorder in Hamiltonian parameters in terms of physical observables, including bipartite entanglement in the ground state and report the existence of disorder-induced enhancement in weakly interacting cases. For systems of two-species fermions described by the Fermi-Hubbard Hamiltonian, we find similar results. In both cases, …
Quantum many-body systems may defy thermalization even without disorder. Intriguingly, non-ergodicity may be caused by a fragmentation of the many-body Hilbert-space into dynamically disconnected subspaces. The tilted one-dimensional Fermi-Hubbard model was proposed as a platform to realize fragmented models perturbatively in the limit of large tilt. Here, we demonstrate the validity of this effective description for the transient dynamics using ultracold fermions. The effective analytic model allows for a detailed understanding of the emergent microscopic processes, which in our case exhibit …
We study the phase diagram of the one-dimensional Bose-Fermi-Hubbard model at unit filling for the scalar bosons and half filling for the $S=1/2$ fermions using quantum Monte Carlo simulations. The bare interaction between the fermions is set to zero. A central question of our study is what type of interactions can be induced between the fermions by the bosons, for both weak and strong interspecies coupling. We find that the induced interactions can lead to competing instabilities favoring phase separation, superconducting phases, and density wave structures, in many cases at work on length sc…
We investigate the ground-state phase diagram of the one-dimensional attractive Fermi-Hubbard model with spin-dependent hoppings and an on-site Rabi coupling using the density matrix renormalization group method. In particular, we show that even in the limit of one component being immobile the pair superfluidity can be resonantly enhanced when the Rabi coupling is on the order of the interaction strength just before the system starts to strongly polarize. We derive an effective spin-1/2 XXZ model in order to understand the ground-state properties in the strong attraction limit.
We study a two-leg fermionic Hubbard ladder model with a state-dependent hopping. We find that, contrary to the case without a state-dependent hopping, for which the system has a superfluid nature regardless of the sign of the interaction at incommensurate filling, in the presence of such a hopping a spin-triplet superfluid, spin- density wave and charge-density wave phases emerge. We examine our results in the light of recent experiments on periodically-driven optical lattices in cold atoms. We give protocols allowing us to realize the spin-triplet superfluid elusive in the cold atoms.
This chapter is a pedagogical review of the Hubbard model for bosons with repulsion and for fermions with attraction and repulsion primarily using two methods, one chosen for its simplicity and insights (mean field theory) and the other chosen for its accuracy and reliability (quantum Monte Marlo methods). From a comparison of the two methods we glean valuable information into the effects of fluctuations that dominate quantum phase transitions. The chapter includes an in-depth comparison with experiments. We conclude with a discussion of future developments where the technical methods expounde…
Ultracold atomic gases provide a fantastic platform to implement quantum simulators and investigate a variety of models initially introduced in condensed matter physics or other areas. One of the most promising applications of quantum simulation is the study of strongly-correlated Fermi gases, for which exact theoretical results are not always possible with state-of-the-art approaches. Here, we review recent progress of the quantum simulation of the emblematic Fermi-Hubbard model with ultracold atoms. After introducing the Fermi-Hubbard model in the context of condensed matter, its implementat…
We discuss the ground-state phase diagram of the one-dimensional Bose-Fermi-Hubbard model (BFHM) in the limit of fast fermions based on an effective boson model. We give a detailed derivation of the effective model with long-range RKKY-type interactions, discuss its range of validity and provide a deeper insight into its implications. In particular we show that integrating out the fast fermion degrees of freedom in a naive way results in an ill-behaved effective Hamiltonian and a proper renormalization is required. Based on the effective Hamiltonian, the phase diagram in the thermodynamic limi…
We study the interplay between population imbalance in a two-component fermionic system and nearest-neighbor interaction using matrix product states method. Our analysis reveals the existence of a new type of Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov phase in the presence of competing interactions. Furthermore, we find distinct evidence for the presence of hidden order in the system. We present an effective model to understand the emergent oscillations in the string correlations due to the imbalance, and show how they can become an efficient tool to investigate systems with imbalance.
We demonstrate the existence of exact atypical many-body eigenstates in a class of disordered, interacting one-dimensional quantum systems that includes the Fermi-Hubbard model as a special case. These atypical eigenstates, which generically have finite energy density and are exponentially many in number, are populated by noninteracting excitations. They can exhibit Anderson localization with area-law eigenstate entanglement or, surprisingly, ballistic transport at any disorder strength. These properties differ strikingly from those of typical eigenstates nearby in energy, which we show give r…
We introduce a simple model for the quantum transport of Fermi particles between two contacts connected by a lead. It generalizes the Landauer formalizm by explicitly taken into account the relaxation processes in the contacts. We calculate the contact resistance and non-equilibrium quasi-momentum distribution of the carriers in the lead and show that they strongly depend on the rate of relaxation processes.
We study the Bose-Hubbard and Fermi-Hubbard model in the limit of large coordination numbers Z (i.e., many tunnelling partners). Via a controlled expansion into powers of 1/Z, we establish a hierarchy of correlations, which facilitates an approximate analytic solution of the quantum evolution. For the Bose-Hubbard model, we derive the growth of phase coherence after a quench from the Mott to the superfluid phase. For a quench within the Mott phase, we find that various local observables approach a quasi-equilibrium state after a finite period of time. However, this state is not thermal, i.e., …
We employ metastable ultracold $^{173}$Yb atoms to study dynamics in the 1D dissipative Fermi-Hubbard model experimentally and theoretically, and observe a complete inhibition of two-body losses after initial fast transient dynamics. We attribute the suppression of particle loss to the dynamical generation of a highly entangled Dicke state. For several lattice depths and for two- and six-spin component mixtures we find very similar dynamics, showing that the creation of strongly correlated states is a robust and universal phenomenon. This offers interesting opportunities for precision measurem…
The attractive Fermi-Hubbard model is the simplest theoretical model for studying pairing and superconductivity of fermions on a lattice. Although its s-wave pairing symmetry excludes it as a microscopic model for high-temperature superconductivity, it exhibits much of the relevant phenomenology, including a short-coherence length at intermediate coupling and a pseudogap regime with anomalous properties. Here we study an experimental realization of this model using a two-dimensional (2D) atomic Fermi gas in an optical lattice. Our site-resolved measurements on the normal state reveal checkerbo…
We study a production of spin-squeezed states with ultra-cold atomic fermions described by the Fermi-Hubbard model in the Mott insulating phase. We show activation of two twisting mechanisms by a position-dependent laser coupling between internal degrees of freedom of atoms. A single laser coupling simulates the one-axis twisting model with the orientation of the twisting axis determined by the coupling phase. Adding a second laser beam with a properly chosen phase paves the way to simulate the two-axis counter-twisting model, enabling to approach the Heisenberg-limited level of squeezing.
