Stability of (N+1) -body fermion clusters in a multiband Hubbard model

Abstract

We start with a variational approach and derive a set of coupled integral equations for the bound states of $N$ identical spin-$\ensuremath{\uparrow}$ fermions and a single spin-$\ensuremath{\downarrow}$ fermion in a generic multiband Hubbard Hamiltonian with an attractive on-site interaction. As an illustration, we apply our integral equations to the one-dimensional sawtooth lattice up to $N\ensuremath{\le}3$, i.e., to the $(3+1)$-body problem, and we reveal not only the presence of tetramer states in this two-band model but also their quasiflat dispersion when formed in a flat band. Furthermore, for $N={4,5,\ensuremath{\cdots},10}$, our density-matrix renormalization-group simulations and exact diagonalization suggest the presence of larger and larger multimers with lower and lower binding energies, conceivably without an upper bound on $N$. These peculiar $(N+1)$-body clusters are in sharp contrast with the exact results on the single-band linear-chain model where none of the $N\ensuremath{\ge}2$ multimers appear. Hence their presence must be taken into account for a proper description of the many-body phenomena in flat-band systems, e.g., they may suppress superconductivity especially when there exists a large spin imbalance.