Bond Density Wave Research Articles

Photoinduced prethermal order parameter dynamics in the two-dimensional large- N Hubbard-Heisenberg model

We study the microscopic dynamics of competing ordered phases in a two-dimensional correlated electron model, which is driven with a pulsed electric field of finite duration. In order to go beyond a mean-field treatment of the electronic interactions we adopt a large-$N$ generalization of the Hubbard model and combine it with the semiclassical fermionic truncated Wigner approximation as a time evolution method. This allows us to calculate dephasing corrections to the mean-field dynamics and to obtain stationary states, which we interpret as prethermal order. We use this framework to simulate the light-induced transition between two competing phases (bond density wave and staggered flux) and find that the post-pulse stationary state order parameter values are not determined alone by the amount of absorbed energy but depend explicitly on the driving frequency and field direction. While the transition between the two prethermal phases takes place at similar total energies in the low- and high-frequency regimes, we identify an intermediate frequency regime for which it occurs with minimal heating.

Ubiquitous defect-induced density wave instability in monolayer graphene.

Quantum materials are notoriously sensitive to their environments, where small perturbations can tip a system toward one of several competing ground states. Graphene hosts a rich assortment of such competing phases, including a bond density wave instability (“Kekulé distortion”) that couples electrons at the K/K′ valleys and breaks the lattice symmetry. Here, we report observations of a ubiquitous Kekulé distortion across multiple graphene systems. We show that extremely dilute concentrations of surface atoms (less than three adsorbed atoms every 1000 graphene unit cells) can self-assemble and trigger the onset of a global Kekulé density wave phase. Combining complementary momentum-sensitive angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) and low-energy electron diffraction (LEED) measurements, we confirm the presence of this density wave phase and observe the opening of an energy gap. Our results reveal an unexpected sensitivity of the graphene lattice to dilute surface disorder and show that adsorbed atoms offer an attractive route toward designing novel phases in two-dimensional materials.

Charge- and pair-density-wave orders in the one-band Hubbard model from dynamical mean field theory

We study the charge-density-wave order and its competition with superconductivity in the one-band Hubbard model for high-$T_c$ superconducting cuprates. We use cluster dynamical mean field theory (CDMFT) at $T=0$. The one-band Hubbard model only contains copper atoms, and a physical charge-density-wave with charge excesses located on the oxygen atoms manifests itself as a bond-density-wave (BDW) within this context. It arises purely out of local correlation effects and also leads to a $s'$-wave pair-density-wave in the presence of $d$-wave superconductivity. The $d$-wave BDW is suppressed on increasing $U$ and is favored on increasing the magnitude of the second-neighbor hopping $t'$. Further, the $d$-wave BDW order is weakened when in competition with superconductivity, as seen in experiments. Additionally it behaves quite differently on varying $U$ in the superconducting state compared to the normal state.

Incipient loop-current order in the underdoped cuprate superconductors

There are growing experimental evidence which indicate discrete symmetry breaking like time-reversal ($\mathcal{T}$), parity ($\mathcal{P}$) and C$_{4}$ lattice rotation in the pseudo-gap state of the under-doped copper-oxide based (cuprate) superconductors. The discrete symmetry breaking manifests a true phase transition to an ordered state. A detailed thermodynamic understanding of these orders can answer various puzzles related to the nature of the transition at the pseudo-gap temperature T$^*$. In this work, we investigate thermodynamic signature of $\mathcal{T-P}$ symmetry breaking considering superconductivity (SC) and bond-density wave (BDW) as two primary orders. The BDW can generate both modulating charge and current densities. This framework takes into account an intricate competition between the ubiquitous charge density wave and SC, which is prominent in various cuprates in the under-doped regime. We demonstrate that within mean-field approach of competing BDW and SC orders, a $\mathcal{T-P}$ breaking ground state of coexisting BDW and SC can be stabilized, provided the BDW itself breaks $\mathcal{T}-\mathcal{P}$. But this ground state ceases to occur at higher temperatures. However, we show that fluctuations in SC and BDW can drive emergence of a new unusual translational symmetry preserving order due to a preemptive phase transition by spontaneously breaking $\mathcal{T-P}$ at a higher temperature before the primary orders set in. We refer this order to be magneto-electric loop current (MELC) order. We present possible nature of phase transition for this new incipient MELC order and discuss some experimental relevance.

Fractional topological insulator precursors in spin-orbit fermion ladders

We study precursor states of fractional topological insulators (FTIs) in interacting fermionic ladders with spin-orbit coupling. Within a microscopically motivated bosonization approach, we investigate different competing phases depending on same-spin and interspin interactions at fractional effective filling $\nu=1/3$ per spin. In the spin-decoupled limit, we find that strong repulsive interactions of already moderate range may lead to a partially gapped state with two time-reversed copies of a quasi-one dimensional Laughlin phase. This FTI precursor competes with an interleg partially gapped phase displaying quasi long-range density wave order, however it may be stabilized if interactions have suitable anisotropy, or are sufficiently near SU($2$) symmetry, in leg space. When the FTI phase is present, it is moderately robust to small interspin interactions; these introduce competing partially gapped phases of orbital antiferromagnetic and bond density wave character. Performing a strong coupling analysis of the FTI precursor regime, we find that the main effect of interspin interactions is to induce correlated quasiparticle backscattering between the precursor FTI edge modes. Although this process competes with the topological phase, we show, by considering an array of ladders, that its influence may disappear upon approaching the two dimensional case. Considering time-reversal symmetry breaking perturbations, we also describe a protocol that adiabatically pumps $1/6$ charge per half-cycle, thus providing a quantized FTI signature arising already in the single ladder regime.

Spin-orbit interaction driven dimerization in one-dimensional frustrated magnets

We study the effect of spin-orbit interaction on one-dimensional U(1)-invariant frustrated magnets with dominant critical nematic fluctuations. The spin-orbit coupling explicitly breaks the U(1) symmetry of arbitrary global spin rotations about the high-symmetry axis down to $Z_2$ (invariance under a $\pi$-rotation). Given that the nematic order parameter is invariant under a $\pi$-rotation, it is relevant to ask if other discrete symmetries can be spontaneously broken. Here we demonstrate that the spin-orbit coupling induces a bond density wave that spontaneously breaks the translational symmetry and opens a gap in the excitation spectrum.

Interplay between d -wave superconductivity and a bond-density wave in the one-band Hubbard model

It is now well established that superconducting cuprates support a charge density wave state in the so-called underdoped region of their phase diagram. We investigate the possibility of charge order in the square-lattice Hubbard model, both alone and in coexistence with $d$-wave superconductivity. The charge order has a period four in one direction, is centered on bonds and has a $d$ form factor. We use the variational cluster approximation, an approach based on a rigorous variational principle that treats short-range correlations exactly, with two clusters of size $2\times6$ that together tile the infinite lattice and provide a non-biased unit for a period-four bond density wave (BDW). We find that the BDW exists in a finite range of hole doping and increases in strength from $U=5$ to $U=8$. Its location and intensity depends strongly on the band dispersion. When probed simultaneously with $d$-wave superconductivity, the energy is sometimes lowered by the presence of both phases, depending on the interaction strength. Whenever they coexist, a pair-density wave (a modulation of superconducting pairing with the same period and form factor as the BDW) also exists.

Stability of a spin-triplet nematic state near to a quantum critical point

We analyze a model of itinerant electrons interacting through a quadrupole density-density repulsion in three dimensions. At the mean field level, the interaction drives a continuous Pomeranchuk instability towards $d$-wave, spin-triplet nematic order, which simultaneously breaks the SU(2) spin-rotation and spatial rotational symmetries. This order results in spin antisymmetric, elliptical deformations of the Fermi surfaces of up and down spins. We show that the effects of quantum fluctuations are similar to those in metallic ferromagnets, rendering the nematic transition first-order at low temperatures. Using the fermionic quantum order-by-disorder approach to self-consistently calculate fluctuations around possible modulated states, we show that the first-order transition is pre-empted by the formation of a nematic state that is intertwined with a helical modulation in spin space. Such a state is closely related to $d$-wave bond density wave order in square-lattice systems. Moreover, we show that it may coexist with a modulated, $p$-wave superconducting state.

Light-induced enhancement of superconductivity via melting of competing bond-density wave order in underdoped cuprates

We develop a theory for light-induced superconductivity in underdoped cuprates in which the competing bond-density wave order is suppressed by driving phonons with light. Close to a bond-density wave instability in a system with a small Fermi surface, such as a fractionalized Fermi liquid, we show that the coupling of electrons to phonons is strongly enhanced at the bond-density wave ordering wavevectors, leading to a strong softening of phonons at these wavevectors. For a model of classical phonons with anharmonic couplings, we show that the combination of strong softening and driving can lead to large phonon oscillations. When coupled to a phenomenological model describing the competition between bond-density wave order and superconductivity, these phonon oscillations melt bond-density wave order, thereby enhancing pairing correlations.

Normal-state Nernst effect from bidirectional bond density wave state in high- Tc cuprates

The role of charge order in the phase diagram of high temperature cuprate superconductors has been recently re-emphasized by the experimental discovery of an incipient bi-directional charge density wave (CDW) phase in a class of underdoped cuprates. In a subset of the experiments, the CDW has been found to be accompanied by a d-wave intra-unit-cell form factor, indicating modulation of charge density on the oxygen orbitals sandwiched between neighboring Cu atoms on the CuO planes (the so-called bond-density wave (BDW) phase). Here we take a mean field Q_1=(2\pi/3,0) and Q_2=(0,2\pi/3) bi-directional BDW phase with a d-wave form factor, which closely resembles the experimentally observed charge ordered states in underdoped cuprates, and calculate the Fermi surface topology and the resulting quasiparticle Nernst coefficient as a function of temperature and doping. We establish that, in the appropriate doping ranges where the low temperature phase (in the absence of superconductivity) is a BDW, the Fermi surface consists of an electron and a hole pocket, resulting in a low temperature negative Nernst coefficient as observed in experiments.

Renormalization group analysis of the pair-density-wave and charge order within the fermionic hot-spot model for cuprate superconductors

In light of the new experimental and theoretical important developments in high-${T}_{c}$ superconductivity, we revisit the fermionic hot-spot model relevant to the phenomenology of the cuprates. We extend previous results by means of a complete two-loop order renormalization group (RG) framework. Here, we explicitly study the effect of the charge-density-wave (CDW) order parameter with a $d$-wave form factor with the experimentally observed modulation $(\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}{Q}_{0},0)$ and $(0,\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}{Q}_{0})$ at the infrared-stable nontrivial fixed point obtained previously for this model. Additionally, we proceed to investigate also the so-called pair-density-wave (PDW) order that was recently proposed in the literature as a possible candidate for the ``hidden'' order to describe the pseudogap phase observed in underdoped cuprates. We confirm that although the above two ordering tendencies are also found to be nearly degenerate both at one-loop and two-loop RG orders and linked by an emergent SU(2) pseudospin symmetry, they turn out to be subleading for weaker couplings in the present model to antiferromagnetism, $d$-wave bond-density wave (BDW) order with modulation along Brillouin zone diagonals $(\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}{Q}_{0},\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}{Q}_{0})$, and $d$-wave singlet superconductivity (SSC). However, as we increase the strength of the initial coupling towards moderate values, we do capture a tendency for the entangled PDW/CDW order to become leading compared to BDW/SSC in the model, which suggests that the former composite order might be indeed a viable concept to describe some cuprate superconductors at high temperatures in the underdoped regime, as has been recently alluded to by many authors in the literature.

Enhancement of superconductivity via periodic modulation in a three-dimensional model of cuprates

Recent experiments in the cuprates have seen evidence of a transient superconducting state upon optical excitation polarized along the c-axis [R. Mankowsky et al., Nature 516, 71 (2014)]. Motivated by these experiments we propose an extension of the single-layer $t-J-V$ model of cuprates to three dimensions in order to study the effects of inter-plane tunneling on the competition between superconductivity and bond density wave order. We find that an optical pump can suppress the charge order and simultaneously enhance superconductivity, due to the inherent competition between the two. We also provide an intuitive picture of the physical mechanism underlying this effect. Furthermore, based on a simple Floquet theory we estimate the magnitude of the enhancement.

Density wave instabilities in a correlated two-dimensional metal

Motivated by recent experimental evidence of charge order in the pseudogap phase of cuprates, we perform a variational analysis of charge-neutral, spin-singlet ordering in metals on the square lattice, using a wavefunction with double occupancy projected out. We examine ordering with and without time-reversal symmetry, with arbitrary wavevector and tunable form factor. Depending on parameters, we find d-wave bond density wave ordering with wavevector either parallel to the lattice generators or diagonally oriented, or a ground state which carries a time reversal-breaking pattern of spontaneous currents.

Quantum quenches and competing orders

We study the nonequilibrium dynamics of an electronic model of competition between an unconventional charge density wave (a bond density wave) and $d$-wave superconductivity. In a time-dependent Hartree-Fock+BCS approximation, the dynamics reduces to the equations of motion of operators realizing the generators of SU(4) at each pair of momenta, ( $\boldsymbol{k}$, - $\boldsymbol{k}$ ), in the Brillouin zone. We also study the nonequilibrium dynamics of a quantum generalization of a O(6) nonlinear $\sigma$ model of competing orders in the underdoped cuprates [Hayward et al., Science $\boldsymbol{343}$, 1336 (2014)]. We obtain results, in the large $N$ limit of a O($N$) model, on the time dependence of correlation functions following a pulse disturbance. We compare our numerical studies with recent picosecond optical experiments. We find that, generically, the oscillatory responses in our models share various qualitative features with the experiments.

Mean-field theory of competing orders in metals with antiferromagnetic exchange interactions

It has long been known that two-dimensional metals with antiferromagnetic exchange interactions have a weak-coupling instability to the superconductivity of spin-singlet, $d$-wave electron pairs. We examine additional possible instabilities in the spin-singlet particle-hole channel and study their interplay with superconductivity. We perform an unrestricted Hartree-Fock-BCS analysis of bond order parameters in a single-band model on the square lattice with nearest-neighbor exchange and repulsion, while neglecting on-site interactions. The dominant particle-hole instability is found to be an incommensurate, bidirectional, bond density wave with wave vectors along the $(1,1)$ and $(1,\ensuremath{-}1)$ directions and an internal $d$-wave symmetry. The magnitude of the ordering wave vector is close to the separation between points on the Fermi surface, which intersect the antiferromagnetic Brillouin zone boundary. The temperature dependence of the superconducting and bond order parameters demonstrates their mutual competition. We also obtain the spatial dependence of the two orders in a vortex lattice induced by an applied magnetic field: ``halos'' of the bond order appear around the cores of the vortices.

Fractional charge excitations in fermionic ladders

The system of interacting spinless fermions hopping on a two-leg ladder in the presence of an external magnetic field is shown to possess a long range order: the bond density wave or the staggered flux phase. In both cases the elementary excitations are $Z_2$ kinks and carry one half the charge of an electron.

Quantum criticality beyond the Landau-Ginzburg-Wilson paradigm

We present the critical theory of a number of zero temperature phase transitions of quantum antiferromagnets and interacting boson systems in two dimensions. The most important example is the transition of the S = 1/2 square lattice antiferromagnet between the Neel state (which breaks spin rotation invariance) and the paramagnetic valence bond solid (which preserves spin rotation invariance but breaks lattice symmetries). We show that these two states are separated by a second order quantum phase transition. The critical theory is not expressed in terms of the order parameters characterizing either state (as would be the case in Landau-Ginzburg-Wilson theory) but involves fractionalized degrees of freedom and an emergent, topological, global conservation law. A closely related theory describes the superfluid-insulator transition of bosons at half-filling on a square lattice, in which the insulator has a bond density wave order. Similar considerations are shown to apply to transitions of antiferromagnets between the valence bond solid and the Z_2 spin liquid: the critical theory has deconfined excitations interacting with an emergent U(1) gauge force. We comment on the broader implications of our results for the study of quantum criticality in correlated electron systems.

The mechanism for the 3×3 distortion of Sn/Ge(111)

We show that two distinct 3×3 ground states — one non-magnetic, metallic and distorted; the other magnetic, semi-metallic (or insulating) and undistorted — compete in α-phase adsorbates on semiconductor (111) surfaces. In Sn/Ge(111), local (spin) density approximation (LSDA) and GGA calculations indicate, in agreement with experiment, that the distorted metallic ground state prevails. The reason for the stability of this state is analysed, and traced to a sort of bond density wave, specifically a modulation of the antibonding state filling between the adatom and a GeGe bond directly underneath.

Van Hove excitons and high- Tc superconductivity VIIIA : Valence bond density waves

It has recently been shown that an important role of correlation effects is to renormalize the band structure to be more ‘Hubbard-like’ at half-filling, driving a Mott transition. Using this insight, the density wave (DW)-superconductivity competition in the high- T c oxides is reexamined. It is found that both the low-temperature orthorhombic (LTO) and the low-temperature tetragonal (LTT) transitions in La 2− x Ba x CuO 4 (LBCO) and related compounds are driven by the strong nesting of the van Hove singularity - the LTT as a static and the LTO a dynamic Jahn-Teller effect. A mean-field theory of the LTO phase is presented, in terms of a coherent superposition of charge DWs or a ‘valence bond density wave’. The resulting DW-superconductivity phase diagram strongly resembles that found in LBCO. Connections of the present model to the magnetic pseudogap and to one-dimensionality are discussed.

Instabilities of the Fermi-liquid and staggered flux phases in the large-N t-J model.

We study the stability of the Fermi-liquid and staggered flux phases in the t-J model for densities off half-filling using a large-N slave-boson approach. We examine the stability of the Fermi-liquid phase with respect to flux-density-wave (FDW) and bond-density-wave (BDW), or spin-Peierls, fluctuations at arbitrary wave vector as a function of doping \ensuremath{\delta} and the ratio \ensuremath{\delta}t/J. For densities near half-filling the Fermi liquid becomes unstable below a critical ${\mathit{t}}_{\mathit{c}}$ towards an FDW state with an incommensurate wave vector k near (\ensuremath{\pi},\ensuremath{\pi}). The critical ratio \ensuremath{\delta}${\mathit{t}}_{\mathit{c}}$/J for the Fermi-liquid--FDW transition diverges rapidly as \ensuremath{\delta}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}0. For \ensuremath{\delta}>18%, the FDW instability of the Fermi liquid is preempted by a BDW instability at incommensurate k. We examine the stability of the \ensuremath{\surd}2 \ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{} \ensuremath{\surd}2 staggered flux phase with respect to coupled FDW and BDW fluctuations and find that, upon lowering t/J at small \ensuremath{\delta}, the staggered flux phase remains stable for \ensuremath{\delta}t/J above a nonzero critical ratio and then develops an instability of primarily BDW character. At nonzero \ensuremath{\delta} and still lower \ensuremath{\delta}t/J, the staggered flux phase also develops an instability with respect to long-wavelength FDW fluctuations; ${\mathit{t}}_{\mathit{c}}$/J for this instability is approximately independent of \ensuremath{\delta}. We study the response function for such fluctuations analytically, showing the nontrivial k dependence induced by the presence of a small density of holes in the staggered phase. It is conjectured that this long-wavelength FDW instability is associated with the existence off half-filling of a commensurate flux phase with lower energy than the staggered flux phase.