We use the Kadanoff-Baym equations within the framework of many-body perturbation theory to study the double occupancies in a Hubbard dimer. The double occupancies are obtained from the equations of motion of the single-particle Green's function. Our calculations show that the approximate double occupancies can become negative. This is a shortcoming of approximate, and yet conserving, many-body self-energies. Among the tested perturbation schemes, the T-matrix approximation is the only one providing double occupancies which are always positive.
We use the Kadanoff-Baym equations within the framework of many-body perturbation theory to study the double occupancies in a Hubbard dimer. The double occupancies are obtained from the equations of motion of the single-particle Green's function. Our calculations show that the approximate double occupancies can become negative. This is a shortcoming of approximate, and yet conserving, many-body self-energies. Among the tested perturbation schemes, the T-matrix approximation is the only one providing double occupancies which are always positive.
Electron dynamics in a two-sites Hubbard model is studied using the nonequilibrium Green's function approach. The study is motivated by the empirical observation that a full solution of the integro-differential Kadanoff-Baym equation (KBE) is more stable and often accompanied by artificial damping [Marc Puig von Friesen, C. Verdozzi, and C.-O. Almbladh (2009)] than its time-linear reformulations relying on the generalized Kadanoff-Baym ansatz (GKBA). Additionally, for conserving theories, numerical simulations suggest that KBE produces natural occupations bounded by one and zero in agreement with the Pauli exclusion principle, whereas, in some regimes, GKBA-based theories violate this principle. As the first step for understanding these issues, the electron dynamics arising in the adiabatic switching scenario is studied. Many-body approximations are classified according to the channel of the Bethe-Salpeter equation in which electronic correlations are explicitly treated. They give rise to the so-called second Born, T-matrix and GW approximations. In each of these cases, the model is reduced to a system of ordinary differential equations, which resemble equations of motion for a driven harmonic oscillator with time-dependent frequencies. A more complete treatment of electronic correlations is achieved by combining different correlation channels, with parquet theory serving as a starting point.
We present in detail a method we recently introduced [Phys. Rev. Lett. 103, 176404 (2009)] to describe finite systems in and out of equilibrium, where the evolution in time is performed via the Kadanoff-Baym equations within many-body perturbation theory. Our systems consist of small, strongly correlated clusters, described by a Hubbard Hamiltonian within the Hartree-Fock, second Born, GW, and T-matrix approximations. We compare the results from the Kadanoff-Baym dynamics to those from exact numerical solutions. The outcome of our comparisons is that, among the many-body schemes considered, the T-matrix approximation is superior at low electron densities while none of the tested approximations stands out at half filling. Such comparisons permit a general assessment of the whole idea of applying many-body perturbation theory, in the Kadanoff-Baym sense, to finite systems. A striking outcome of our analysis is that when the system evolves under a strong external field, the Kadanoff-Baym equations develop a steady-state solution as a consequence of a correlation-induced damping. This damping is present both in isolated (finite) systems, where it is purely artificial, as well as in clusters contacted to (infinite) macroscopic leads. The extensive numerical characterization we performed indicates that this behavior is present whenever approximate self-energies, which include correlation effects, are used. Another important result is that, for isolated clusters, the steady state reached is not unique but depends on how one switches on the external field. When the clusters are coupled to macroscopic leads, one may reach multiple quasisteady states with arbitrarily long lifetimes.
We study the time-dependent transmission of entanglement entropy through an out-of-equilibrium model interacting device in a quantum transport set-up. The dynamics is performed via the Kadanoff-Baym equations within many-body perturbation theory. The double occupancy , needed to determine the entanglement entropy, is obtained from the equations of motion of the single-particle Green's function. A remarkable result of our calculations is that can become negative, thus not permitting to evaluate the entanglement entropy. This is a shortcoming of approximate, and yet conserving, many-body self-energies. Among the tested perturbation schemes, the T -matrix approximation stands out for two reasons: it compares well to exact results in the low-density regime and it always provides a non-negative . For the second part of this statement, we give an analytical proof. Finally, the transmission of entanglement across the device is diminished by interactions but can be amplified by a current flowing through the system.
This dissertation investigates the possibilities and limitations of time-dependent many-body perturbation theory by studying small Hubbard clusters for which the exact solution is available. The first part of the thesis is comprised of a short introduction to the concepts and methodologies used. The second part consists of an review of the main findings of the thesis and a short summary of four original papers. In paper I we study the dynamics of short Hubbard chains within many-body perturbation theory and compare to the exact solution. The main outcomes are that the T-matrix approximation works well in the low filling regime and that all approximation which involve correlation effects develop an unphysical steady state. In paper II we present the methodology used in paper I. We find that the correlation-induced damping appears even in the presence of leads and that there are multiple steady and quasi steady states. In paper III we make a review of the status of time dependent density functional theory for lattice models. In particular we find that a non-perturbative adiabatic local density approximation describes strong correlations well while many-body perturbation theory accounts better for non-adiabatic effects. In paper IV we propose a method to obtain the double occupancy from the Kadanoff-Baym equations. We show that the positiveness condition may be violated in the GW or the second Born approximation but fulfiled in the T-matrix approximation. We apply this method to obtain the local entanglement entropy.
We perform a comparative study of exact and approximate time-evolved densities in small Hubbard chains. The approximate densities are obtained via many-body perturbation theory (Hartree-Fock, 2nd Born, GW and T-matrix approximations) within the framework of the time-dependent Kadanoff-Baym equations. Benchmarking approximate results against exact ones allows us to address two rather fundamental issues in the non equilibrium dynamics of strongly correlated systems. I) A characterisation of the performance of several standard MBAs in the non-equilibrium regime. Having a definite notion of how good a specific MBA can be is highly relevant to its application to cases (typically, infinite systems) where exact solutions are not available. Our results show that the T-matrix approximation is overall superior to the other MBAs, at all electron densities. II) A scrutiny of the whole idea of Many Body Perturbation Theory in the Kadanoff-Baym sense, when applied to finite systems. The surprising outcome of our study is that during the time evolution, the KBE develop an unphysical steady state solution. This is a genuinely novel feature of the time-dependent KBE, i.e. is not inherited from possible limitations/approximations in the calculation of the initial state. Our extensive numerical characterisation gives robust evidence that the problem occurs in general, whenever MBPT is applied to finite systems, and approximate self energies based upon infinite partial summations are used. We also offer some more conceptual and general consideration on the dependence of this behaviour on the number of particles and system size. This is followed by our conclusions and glimpses of future work.
Electron dynamics in a two‐sites Hubbard model is studied using the nonequilibrium Green's function approach. The study is motivated by the empirical observation that a full solution of the integro‐differential Kadanoff–Baym equation (KBE) is more stable and often accompanied by artificial damping [Marc Puig von Friesen, C. Verdozzi, and C.‐O. Almbladh (2009)] than its time‐linear reformulations relying on the generalized Kadanoff–Baym ansatz (GKBA). Additionally, for conserving theories, numerical simulations suggest that KBE produces natural occupations bounded by one and zero in agreement with the Pauli exclusion principle, whereas, in some regimes, GKBA‐based theories violate this principle. As the first step for understanding these issues, the electron dynamics arising in the adiabatic switching scenario is studied. Many‐body approximations are classified according to the channel of the Bethe–Salpeter equation in which electronic correlations are explicitly treated. They give rise to the so‐called second Born, T‐matrix, and GW approximations. In each of these cases, the model is reduced to a system of ordinary differential equations, which resemble equations of motion for a driven harmonic oscillator with time‐dependent frequencies. A more complete treatment of electronic correlations is achieved by combining different correlation channels, with parquet theory serving as a starting point.