Density-matrix functional theory of the attractive Hubbard model: Statistical analogy of pairing correlations

Abstract

The ground-state properties of the Hubbard model with attractive local pairing interactions are investigated in the framework of lattice density-functional theory. A remarkable correlation is revealed between the interaction-energy functional $W[\mathbit{\ensuremath{\eta}}]$ corresponding to the Bloch-state occupation-number distribution ${\ensuremath{\eta}}_{\ensuremath{\kappa}\ensuremath{\sigma}}$ and the entropy $S[\mathbit{\ensuremath{\eta}}]$ of a system of noninteracting fermions having the same ${\ensuremath{\eta}}_{\mathbit{k}\ensuremath{\sigma}}$. The relation between $W[\mathbit{\ensuremath{\eta}}]$ and $S[\mathbit{\ensuremath{\eta}}]$ is shown to be approximately linear for a wide range of ground-state representable occupation-number distributions ${\ensuremath{\eta}}_{\mathbit{k}\ensuremath{\sigma}}$. Taking advantage of this statistical analogy, a simple explicit ansatz for $W[\mathbit{\ensuremath{\eta}}]$ of the attractive Hubbard model is proposed, which can be applied to arbitrary periodic systems. The accuracy of this approximation is demonstrated by calculating the main ground-state properties of the model on several 1D and 2D bipartite and nonbipartite lattices and by comparing the results with exact diagonalizations.