Competing phases and orbital-selective behaviors in the two-orbital Hubbard-Holstein model

Abstract

We study the interplay between the electron-electron (e-e) and the electron-phonon (e-ph) interactions in the two-orbital Hubbard-Holstein model at half filling using the dynamical mean field theory. We find that the e-ph interaction, even at weak couplings, strongly modifies the phase diagram of this model and introduces an orbital-selective Peierls insulating phase (OSPI) that is analogous to the widely studied orbital-selective Mott phase (OSMP). At small e-e and e-ph coupling, we find a competition between the OSMP and the OSPI, while at large couplings, a competition occurs between Mott and charge-density-wave (CDW) insulating phases. We further demonstrate that the Hund's coupling influences the OSPI transition by lowering the energy associated with the CDW. Our results explicitly show that one must be cautious when neglecting the e-ph interaction in multiorbital systems, where multiple electronic interactions create states that are readily influenced by perturbing interactions.