A BCS-BEC crossover in the extended Falicov-Kimball model: Variational cluster approach

Abstract

Motivated by recent experimental and theoretical studies of excitonic insulators, we use the variational cluster approximation to calculate the single-particle Green's function and anomalous Green's function of the Falicov-Kimball model extended by including a finite valence bandwidth. We thus determine the single-particle excitation gap due to the bound-state formation of an electron and a hole. We also evaluate the order parameter of the excitonic insulating state indicating quantum coherence of condensed excitons. We thereby discuss the excitonic insulator that typifies either a BCS condensate of electron-hole pairs (weak-coupling regime) or a Bose-Einstein condensate of preformed excitons (strong-coupling regime). A BCS-BEC crossover of the model thus manifests itself as a function of the Coulombic coupling strength.