Two-dimensional Attractive Hubbard Model Research Articles

Spin-singlet topological superconductivity in the attractive Rashba-Hubbard model

Fully gapped, spin-singlet superconductors with antisymmetric spin-orbit coupling in a Zeeman magnetic field provide a promising route to realize superconducting states with non-Abelian topological order and therefore fault-tolerant quantum computation. Here we use a quantum Monte Carlo dynamical cluster approximation to study the superconducting properties of a doped two-dimensional attractive Hubbard model with Rashba spin-orbit coupling in a Zeeman magnetic field. We generally find that the Rashba coupling has a beneficial effect towards $s$-wave superconductivity. In the presence of a finite Zeeman field, when superconductivity is suppressed by Pauli pair breaking, the Rashba coupling counteracts the spin imbalance created by the Zeeman field by mixing the spins, and thus restores superconductivity at finite temperatures. We show that this favorable effect of the spin-orbit coupling is traced to a spin-flip driven enhancement of the amplitude for the propagation of a pair of electrons in time-reversed states. Moreover, by inspecting the Fermi surface of the interacting model, we show that for sufficiently large Rashba coupling and Zeeman field, the superconducting state is expected to be topologically nontrivial.

Second-Neighbor Hopping Effects in the Two-Dimensional Attractive Hubbard Model

The emergence of superconductivity (SC) in lattice models, such as the attractive Hubbard one, has renewed interest since the realization of cold-atom experiments. However, reducing the temperature in these experiments is a bottleneck; therefore, investigating how to increase the energy scale for SC is crucial to cold atoms. In view of this, we examine the effects of next-nearest-neighbor hoppings (t′) on the pairing properties of the attractive Hubbard model in a square lattice. To this end, we analyze the model through unbiased Quantum Monte Carlo simulations for fixed density n=0.87, and perform finite-size scaling analysis to the thermodynamic limit. As our main result, we notice that the existence of further hopping channels leads to an enhancement of the pairing correlations, which, in turn, increases the ground-state order parameter Δ. Finally, at finite temperatures, for t′/t≠0, this enhancement of pairing correlations leads to an increase in the critical temperature Tc. That is, the fine-tuning of second-neighbor hoppings increases the energy scales for SC, and may be a route by which cold-atom experiments can achieve such a phase and to help us further understand the nature of this phenomenon.

Two-dimensional attractive Hubbard model and the BCS-BEC crossover

Recent experiments with ultracold fermionic atoms in optical lattices have provided a tuneable and clean realization of the attractive Hubbard model (AHM). In view of this, several physical properties may be thoroughly studied across the crossover between weak [Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer, (BCS)] and strong [Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC)] couplings. Here we report on extensive determinant Quantum Monte Carlo (DQMC) studies of the AHM on a square lattice from which several different quantities have been calculated and should be useful as a road map to experiments. We have obtained a detailed phase diagram for the critical superconducting temperature ${T}_{c}$ in terms of the band filling $\ensuremath{\langle}n\ensuremath{\rangle}$ and interaction strength $U$ from which we pinpoint a somewhat wide region $|U|/t\ensuremath{\approx}5\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}1$ ($t$ is the hopping amplitude) and $\ensuremath{\langle}n\ensuremath{\rangle}\ensuremath{\approx}0.79\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.09$ leading to a maximum ${T}_{c}\ensuremath{\approx}0.16t$. Two additional temperature scales, namely, pairing ${T}_{p}$ and degeneracy ${T}_{d}$ have been highlighted: The former sets the scale for pair formation (believed to be closely related to the scale for the gap of spin excitations in cuprates), whereas the latter sets the scale for dominant quantum effects. Our DQMC data for the distribution of doubly occupied sites for the momentum distribution function, and for the quasiparticle weight show distinctive features on both sides of the BCS-BEC crossover, being also suggestive of an underlying crossover between Fermi- and non-Fermi liquid behaviors.

Accessing the ordered phase of correlated Fermi systems: Vertex bosonization and mean-field theory within the functional renormalization group

We present a consistent fusion of functional renormalization group and mean-field theory which explicitly introduces a bosonic field via a Hubbard-Stratonovich transformation at the critical scale, at which the order sets in. We show that a minimal truncation of the flow equations, that neglects order parameter fluctuations, is integrable and fulfills fundamental constraints as the Goldstone theorem and the Ward identity connected with the broken global symmetry. To introduce the bosonic field, we present a technique to factorize the most singular part of the vertex, even when the full dependence on all its arguments is retained. We test our method on the two-dimensional attractive Hubbard model at half-filling and calculate the superfluid gap as well as the Yukawa couplings and residual two fermion interactions in the ordered phase as functions of fermionic Matsubara frequencies. Furthermore, we analyze the gap and the condensate fraction for weak and moderate couplings and compare our results with previous functional renormalization group studies, and with quantum Monte Carlo data. Our formalism constitutes a convenient starting point for the inclusion of order parameter fluctuations by keeping a full, non simplified, dependence on fermionic momenta and/or frequencies.

Effect of site dilution in the two-dimensional attractive Hubbard model

We study the percolative superconducting transition as the density of randomly placed attractive centers grows in a host metal. Employing the Hubbard-Stratanovich transformation for the interaction and allowing for spatial, thermal fluctuations of the pairing field, we obtain real-space features of the transition from weak to strong coupling. Spectral and transport properties are studied in detail. BCS-BEC crossover is discussed in the context of site dilution of attractive centers.

Effective Hamiltonian based Monte Carlo for the BCS to BEC crossover in the attractive Hubbard model

We present an effective Hamiltonian based real-space approach for studying the weak-coupling Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) to the strong-coupling Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) crossover in the two-dimensional attractive Hubbard model at finite temperatures. We introduce and justify an effective classical Hamiltonian to describe the thermal fluctuations of the relevant auxiliary fields. Our results for $T_c$ and phase diagrams compare very well with those obtained from more sophisticated and {\it cpu}-intensive numerical methods. We demonstrate that the method works in the presence of disorder and is useful for a real-space description of the effect of disorder on superconductivity. From a combined analysis of the superconducting order parameter, the distribution of auxiliary fields and the quasiparticle density of states, we identify the regions of metallic, insulating, superconducting and pseudogapped behavior. Our finding of the importance of phase fluctuations for the pseudogap behavior is consistent with the conclusions drawn from recent experiments on NbN superconductors. The method can be generalized to study superconductors with non-trivial order parameter symmetries by identifying the relevant auxiliary variables.

Suppression of s-wave superconductivity by kinetic disorder in a two-dimensional attractive Hubbard model

We investigate the influence of diagonal and off-diagonal disorder potentials on superconductivity in an attractive Hubbard model. The study is motivated by recent experimental and theoretical interest in understanding the microscopic mechanism by which impurities destroy superconductivity. In order to capture the spatial correlations accurately, we make use of the real-space Bogoliubov-de Gennes mean field method. We find that the response of a superconductor to disorder crucially depends, even qualitatively, on the type of disorder considered. Superconductivity is suppressed spatially homogeneously by off-diagonal (kinetic) disorder in comparison to the suppression by diagonal (potential) disorder which proceeds via the formation of strongly superconducting islands. Moreover, the non-superconducting phase is gapless in the case of kinetic disorder, suggesting a fermionic superconductor-insulator transition (SIT). This is in sharp contrast to the SIT tuned by diagonal disorder, which is understood to be bosonic in nature. A qualitatively distinct mechanism that allows for a BCS-like suppression of superconductivity with increasing disorder is, in fact, consistent with recent experiments on amorphous Bi films.

Fermionic two-loop functional renormalization group for correlated fermions: Method and application to the attractive Hubbard model

We derive an efficient method for treating renormalization contributions at two-loop level within the functional renormalization group in the one-particle irreducible formalism for fermions. It is based on a decomposition of the two-particle vertex in charge, magnetic and pairing channels. The method treats single-particle and collective excitations in all channels on equal footing, allows for the description of symmetry-breaking and captures collective mode fluctuation physics in the infrared. As a first application, we study the superfluid ground state of the two-dimensional attractive Hubbard model. We obtain superfluid gaps that are reduced by fluctuations in comparison to the one-loop approximation and demonstrate that the method captures the renormalization of the amplitude mode by long-range phase fluctuations.

BCS–BEC Crossover in Two-Dimensional Attractive Hubbard Model under Magnetic Field

The Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS)-Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) crossover in the two-dimensional attractive Hubbard model under the magnetic field is discussed at the half-filling at T=0 K on the basis of the formalism of Eagles and Leggett. It is shown that the so-called Fulde-Ferrel-Larkin-Ovchinikov-like state with a non-zero center-of-mass wave vector ${\bf q}\not=0$ is not stabilized in the weak-coupling (BCS) region, while such a state with ${\bf q}\not=0$ is stabilized against that with ${\bf q}=0$ even in a wide strong-coupling (BEC) region where di-fermion molecules are formed. The physical implication of this surprising result is discussed.

BCS–BEC Crossover in the Two-Dimensional Attractive Hubbard Model: Variational Cluster Approach

We use the variational cluster approximation to study the superconducting ground state in the two-dimensional attractive Hubbard model, putting particular emphasis on the significance of quantum fluctuations of the system. We first show that the order parameter is suppressed in comparison with that obtained using the mean-field theory owing to the effects of spatial fluctuations in two-dimensional systems. We then show that the calculated Bogoliubov quasiparticle spectra and condensation amplitude clearly exhibit the character of Cooper pairs in momentum space and that the pair coherence length ξ evaluated from the condensation amplitude demonstrates a smooth crossover in real space from a weakly paired BCS state (\(\xi \gg a\)) to a BEC state of tightly bound pairs (\(\xi \ll a\)), where a is the lattice constant. The calculated kinetic and potential energies in the superconducting and normal ground states indicate that the superconducting state in the weak-coupling region is driven by the gain in potential energy, while that in the strong-coupling region is driven by the gain in kinetic energy.

Strongly fluctuating fermionic superfluid in the attractiveπ-flux Hubbard model

Ultracold atoms in optical lattice provides a platform to realize the superfluid (SF) state, a quantum order with paired charge-neutral fermions. In this paper, we studied SF state in the twodimensional attractive Hubbard model with pi-flux on each plaquette. The SF state in the pi-flux lattice model suffers very strong quantum fluctuations and the ground state becomes a possible quantum phase liquid state. In this phase, there exists the Cooper pairing together with a finite energy gap for the atoms, but no long range SF phase coherence exists at zero temperature. In addition, we discussed the properties of the SF vortices.

Low-energy singularities in the ground state of fermionic superfluids

We analyze the effects of order parameter fluctuations on the ground state of fully gapped charge-neutral fermionic superfluids. The Goldstone mode associated with the spontaneously broken symmetry leads to a problem of coupled singularities in $d \leq 3$ dimensions. We derive a minimal set of one-loop renormalization group equations which fully captures the interplay of the singularities. The flow equations are based on a symmetry conserving truncation of a scale dependent effective action. We compute the low energy behavior of longitudinal, transverse and mixed order parameter correlations, and their impact on the fermionic gap. We demonstrate analytically that cancellations protecting the Goldstone mode are respected by the flow, and we present a numerical solution of the flow equations for the two-dimensional attractive Hubbard model.

Effective interactions and fluctuation effects in spin-singlet superfluids

We derive and evaluate one-loop functional flow equations for the effective interactions, self-energy, and gap function in spin-singlet superfluids. The flow is generated by a fermionic frequency cutoff, which is supplemented by an external pairing field to treat divergencies associated with the Goldstone boson. To parametrize the singular momentum and frequency dependencies of the effective interactions, the Nambu interaction vertex is decomposed in charge, magnetic, and normal and anomalous pairing channels. The one-loop flow solves reduced (mean-field) models for superfluidity exactly, and captures also important fluctuation effects. The Ward identity from charge conservation is generally violated, but can be enforced by projecting the flow. Applying the general formalism to the two-dimensional attractive Hubbard model, we obtain detailed results on the momentum and frequency dependencies of the effective interactions for weak and moderate bare interactions. The gap is reduced by fluctuations, with a stronger reduction at weaker interactions, as expected.

Gapless inhomogeneous superfluid phase with spin-dependent disorder

We show that the presence of a spin-dependent random potential in a superconductor or a superfluid atomic gas leads to distinct transitions at which the energy gap and average order parameter vanish, generating an intermediate gapless superfluid phase, in marked contrast to the case of spin-symmetric randomness where no such gapless superfluid phase is seen. By allowing the pairing amplitude to become inhomogeneous, the gapless superconducting phase persists up to considerably higher disorder compared with the prediction of Abrikosov–Gorkov. The low-lying excited states are located predominantly in regions where the pairing amplitude vanishes and coexist with the superfluid regions with a finite pairing. Our results are based on inhomogeneous Bogoliubov–de Gennes mean field theory for a two-dimensional attractive Hubbard model with spin-dependent disorder.

Superfluid stiffness renormalization and critical temperature enhancement in a composite superconductor

We study a model of a composite system constructed from a ``pairing layer'' of disconnected attractive-$U$ Hubbard sites that is coupled by single-particle tunneling, ${t}_{\ensuremath{\perp}}$, to a disordered metallic layer. For small interlayer tunneling the system is described by an effective long-range $XY$ phase model whose critical temperature, ${T}_{c}$, is essentially insensitive to the disorder and is exponentially suppressed by quantum fluctuations. ${T}_{c}$ reaches a maximum for intermediate values of ${t}_{\ensuremath{\perp}}$, which we calculate using a combination of mean-field, classical, and quantum Monte Carlo methods. The maximal ${T}_{c}$ scales as a fraction of the zero-temperature gap of the attractive sites when $U$ is smaller than the metallic bandwidth, and is bounded by the maximal ${T}_{c}$ of the two-dimensional attractive Hubbard model for large $U$. Our results indicate that a thin, rather than a thick, metallic coating is better suited for the enhancement of ${T}_{c}$ at the surface of a phase fluctuating superconductor.

Variational Monte Carlo Study of Spin-Gapped Normal State and BCS–BEC Crossover in Two-Dimensional Attractive Hubbard Model

We study properties of normal, superconducting (SC) and CDW states for an attractive Hubbard model on the square lattice, using a variational Monte Carlo method. In trial wave functions, we introduce an interspinon binding factor, indispensable to induce a spin-gap transition in the normal state, in addition to the onsite attractive and intersite repulsive factors. It is found that, in the normal state, as the interaction strength $|U|/t$ increases, a first-order spin-gap transition arises at $|U_{\rm c}|\sim W$ ($W$: band width) from a Fermi liquid to a spin-gapped state, which is conductive through hopping of doublons. In the SC state, we confirm by analysis of various quantities that the mechanism of superconductivity undergoes a smooth crossover at around $|U_{\ma{co}}|\sim |U_{\rm c}|$ from a BCS type to a Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) type, as $|U|/t$ increases. For $|U|<|U_{\ma{co}}|$, quantities such as the condensation energy, a SC correlation function and the condensate fraction of onsite pairs exhibit behavior of $\sim \exp(-t/|U|)$, as expected from the BCS theory. For $|U|>|U_{\ma{co}}|$, quantities such as the energy gain in the SC transition and superfluid stiffness, which is related to the cost of phase coherence, behave as $\sim t^2/|U|\propto T_{\rm c}$, as expected in a bosonic scheme. In this regime, the SC transition is induced by a gain in kinetic energy, in contrast with the BCS theory. We refer to the relevance to the pseudogap in cuprate superconductors.

Superconductivity and charge order of confined Fermi systems

The low-temperature properties of the two-dimensional attractive Hubbard model are strongly influenced by the fermion density. Away from half-filling, there is a finite-temperature transition to a phase with s-wave pairing order. However, the critical temperature is suppressed to zero at half-filling, where long-range charge-density-wave order also appears, degenerate with superconductivity. This paper presents Determinant Quantum Monte Carlo simulations of the attractive Hubbard model in the presence of a confining potential V which makes the fermion density \rho{} inhomogeneous across the lattice. Pair correlations are shown to be large at low temperatures in regions of the trapped system with incommensurate filling, and to exhibit a minimum as the local density \rho(i) passes through one fermion per site. In this ring of \rho=1, charge order is enhanced. A comparison is made between treating V within the local-density approximation (LDA) and in an ab initio manner. It is argued that certain sharp features of the LDA result at integer filling do not survive the proximity of doped sites. The critical temperature of confined systems of fixed characteristic density is estimated.

Potential-energy-driven (BCS) to kinetic-energy-driven (BEC) pairing in the two-dimensional attractive Hubbard model: Cellular dynamical mean-field theory

The BCS-BEC crossover within the two-dimensional attractive Hubbard model is studied by using the Cellular Dynamical Mean-Field Theory both in the normal and superconducting ground states. Short-range spatial correlations incorporated in this theory remove the normal-state quasiparticle peak and the first-order transition found in the Dynamical Mean-Field Theory, rendering the normal state crossover smooth. For $U$ smaller than the bandwidth, pairing is driven by the potential energy, while in the opposite case it is driven by the kinetic energy, resembling a recent optical conductivity experiment in cuprates. Phase coherence leads to the appearance of a collective Bogoliubov mode in the density-density correlation function and to the sharpening of the spectral function.

Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless transition and BCS-Bose crossover in the two-dimensional attractive Hubbard model

We study the two-dimensional attractive Hubbard model using the mapping onto the half-filled repulsive Hubbard model in a uniform magnetic field coupled to the fermion spins. The low-energy effective action for charge and pairing fluctuations is obtained in the hydrodynamic regime. We recover the action of a Bose superfluid where half the fermion density is identified as the conjugate variable of the phase of the superconducting order parameter. By integrating out charge fluctuations, we obtain a phase-only action. In the zero-temperature superconducting state, this action describes a collective phase mode smoothly evolving from the Anderson-Bogoliubov mode at weak coupling to the Bogoliubov mode of a Bose superfluid at strong coupling. At finite temperature, the phase-only action can be used to extract an effective XY model and thus obtain the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless (BKT) phase transition temperature. We also identify a renormalized classical regime of superconducting fluctuations above the BKT phase transition, and a regime of incoherent pairs at higher temperature. Special care is devoted to the nearly half-filled case where the symmetry of the order parameter is enlarged to SO(3) due to strong ${\bf q}=(\pi,\pi)$ charge fluctuations. The low-energy effective action is then an SO(3) non-linear sigma model with a (symmetry breaking) magnetic field proportional to the doping. In the strong-coupling limit, the attractive Hubbard model can be mapped onto the Heisenberg model, from which we recover the Gross-Pitaevskii equation in the low-density limit.

Critical temperature for the two-dimensional attractive Hubbard model

The critical temperature for the attractive Hubbard model on a square lattice is determined from the analysis of two independent quantities, the helicity modulus, $\rho_s$, and the pairing correlation function, $P_s$. These quantities have been calculated through Quantum Monte Carlo simulations for lattices up to $18\times 18$, and for several densities, in the intermediate-coupling regime. Imposing the universal-jump condition for an accurately calculated $\rho_s$, together with thorough finite-size scaling analyses (in the spirit of the phenomenological renormalization group) of $P_s$, suggests that $T_c$ is considerably higher than hitherto assumed.