Identifying the correct low-energy effective theory for magnons and holes in an antiferromagnet has remained an open problem for a long time. In analogy to the effective theory for pions and nucleons in QCD, based on a symmetry analysis of Hubbard and $t\text{\ensuremath{-}}J$-type models, we construct a systematic low-energy effective field theory for magnons and holes located inside pockets centered at lattice momenta $(\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}\frac{\ensuremath{\pi}}{2a},\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}\frac{\ensuremath{\pi}}{2a})$. The effective theory is based on a nonlinear realization of the spontaneously broken spin symmetry and makes model-independent universal predictions for the entire class of lightly doped antiferromagnetic precursors of high-temperature superconductors. The predictions of the effective theory are exact, order by order in a systematic low-energy expansion. We derive the one-magnon exchange potentials between two holes in an otherwise undoped system. Remarkably, in some cases the corresponding two-hole Schr\"odinger equations can even be solved analytically. The resulting bound states have
d-wave characteristics. The ground state wave function of two holes residing in different hole pockets has a ${d}_{{x}^{2}\ensuremath{-}{y}^{2}}$-like symmetry, while for two holes in the same pocket the symmetry resembles
dxy.
We consider a microscopic model for a doped quantum ferromagnet as a test case for the systematic low-energy effective field theory for magnons and holes, which is constructed in complete analogy to the case of quantum antiferromagnets. In contrast to antiferromagnets, for which the effective field theory approach can be tested only numerically, in the ferromagnetic case, both the microscopic and the effective theory can be solved analytically. In this way, the low-energy parameters of the effective theory are determined exactly by matching to the underlying microscopic model. The low-energy behavior at half-filling as well as in the single- and two-hole sectors is described exactly by the systematic low-energy effective field theory. In particular, for weakly bound two-hole states the effective field theory even works beyond perturbation theory. This lends strong support to the quantitative success of the systematic low-energy effective field theory method not only in the ferromagnetic but also in the physically most interesting antiferromagnetic case.
In view of quite recent experimental activities on magnetic and superconducting properties of honeycomb and hexagonal lattice based materials, in this thesis we have used field-theoretic and many-body methods to investigate magnetic and superconducting properties of the large-U Hubbard model on the honeycomb lattice at half-filling and in the hole-doped regime. Within the framework of a functional-integral approach, we obtain the Lagrangian density associated with the charge (Grassmann fields) and spin [SU(2) gauge fields] degrees of freedom. The Hamiltonian related to the charge degrees of freedom is exactly diagonalized. In the strong-coupling regime, we derive a perturbative low-energy theory suitable to describe the (quantum) magnetic and superconducting phases at half-filling and in the hole-doped regime. At half-filling, we deal with the underlying spin degrees of freedom of the quantum antiferromagnetic (AF) Heisenberg model by employing a second-order spin-wave analysis, in which case we have calculated the ground-state energy and the staggered magnetization; the results are in very good agreement with previous studies. Further, in the continuum, we derive a nonlinear σ-model with a topological Hopf term that describes the AF-VBS (valence bond solid) competition. In the challenging hole-doped regime, our approach allows the derivation of a t-J Hamiltonian, and the analysis of the role played by charge and spin quantum fluctuations on the ground-state energy and, particularly, on the breakdown of the AF order at a critical hole doping; the results are benchmarked against recent Grassmann tensor product state simulations. In addition, we have performed an extensive study of the electronic structure of the doped system for each competing phase: AF, ferromagnetic (FM), and (spin-singlet pairing) s-, dx₂₋ʏ₂ – and idxʏ -wave superconducting (SC) state induced by purely electronic effects. In this context, an energetic analysis of the ground state of these phases reveal that the AF order prevails for low hole doping, while a dominantly chiral dx₂₋ʏ₂ + idxʏ superconducting state was found in the vicinity of the Van Hove singularity (high hole doping). We also stress that a thermodynamic analysis of the superconducting phase shows that the critical temperature is directly related to the exchange constant J = 4t²/U, in which t denotes the hopping amplitude and U the on-site Coulomb repulsion of the Hubbard model (purely electronic origin). Remarkably, the competition between the AF and dx₂₋ʏ₂ + idxʏ SC phases takes place by the occurrence of a first-order transition accompanied by a spatial phase separation of the referred phases.
Field-theoretic methods are used to investigate the large-
U Hubbard model on the honeycomb lattice at half-filling and in the hole-doped regime. Within the framework of a functional-integral approach, we obtain the Lagrangian density associated with the charge and spin degrees of freedom. The Hamiltonian related to the charge degrees of freedom is exactly diagonalized. In the strong-coupling regime, we derive a perturbative low-energy theory suitable to describe the quantum antiferromagnetic phase (AF) as a function of hole doping. At half-filling, we deal with the underlying spin degrees of freedom of the quantum AF Heisenberg model by employing a second-order spin-wave analysis, in which case we have calculated the ground-state energy and the staggered magnetization; the results are in very good agreement with previous studies. Further, in the continuum, we derive a nonlinear $\ensuremath{\sigma}$ model with a topological Hopf term that describes the AF-VBS (valence bond solid) competition. Lastly, in the challenging doped regime, our approach allows the derivation of a $t\text{\ensuremath{-}}J$ Hamiltonian, and the analysis of the role played by charge and spin quantum fluctuations on the ground-state energy and, particularly, on the breakdown of the AF order at a critical hole doping; the results are benchmarked against recent Grassmann tensor product state simulations.
This thesis investigates two-dimensional quantum antiferromagnets, with a focus on the spin-
21 antiferromagnetic easy-axis XXZ model on a square and a honeycomb lattice. Describing the excitations and interactions of magnons in these models is of substantial interest, as magnons are the fundamental quasiparticles and can thus explain experimental observations. Already for the paradigmatic antiferromagnetic spin-
21 Heisenberg model on the square lattice, high-energy features of the magnon dispersion are understood via strong magnon-magnon interactions. Besides that, interesting high-energy features were recently observed in the honeycomb lattice, including a possible decay of the single-magnon mode. The goal of this thesis is to obtain effective descriptions of the aforementioned systems that capture the relevant features of the magnon excitations and their interactions. To study these features, this thesis employs continuous similarity transformations (CSTs), which enables a systematic derivation of an effective quasiparticle picture via so-called flow equations. The approach enables decoupling different magnon sectors and thus for investigating ground-state properties, single-magnon excitations, and multi-magnon bound states. The magnon description is derived from the non-Hermitian Dyson-Maleev representation, which describes fluctuations around a long-range magnetically ordered ground state. The flow equations are set up in momentum space, truncated by the scaling dimension, retaining only operators up to scaling dimension of two, and solved numerically. For the square lattice, a magnon-conserving effective Hamiltonian is obtained across the full anisotropy range by interpolating between the Ising limit and the Heisenberg limit. The ground-state energy, staggered magnetization, dispersion, and critical exponents are in excellent agreement with the literature, supporting the validity of CST also for gapped phases. Two-magnon excitations in the
Sz=0 subspace comprise four bound states, which are tracked across the anisotropy range. Their successive decay into the two-magnon continuum is determined by using the inverse participation ratio. For the honeycomb lattice, the magnon-conserving CST is reliable only up to
λ≲0.57; an adapted CST scheme that decouples only the ground state while preserving couplings between different higher-magnon sectors yields effective descriptions for all
λ and confirms stable long-range order. The low-energy properties determined in this way match the literature values. However, in the Heisenberg limit, the adapted approach fails to capture high-energy features, such as the experimentally observed decay into the multi-particle continuum at corners of the Brillouin zone. A termination of the magnon-conserving flow equations at a finite flow parameter before the divergence reveals a single-magnon decay at high energies, which is connected to a crossing of a two-magnon bound state with the single-magnon mode. The observed energy dip qualitatively agrees with Quantum Monte Carlo results, but magnon–magnon interactions are overestimated, hindering a fully quantitative characterization of the single-magnon dispersion. Analyzing multi-magnon bound states over the anisotropy range unveils that the crossing of a three-magnon bound state with the single-magnon mode accounts for the breakdown of the magnon-conserving CST at higher
λ. This work demonstrates that CST with scaling-dimension truncation provides a powerful framework for studying two-dimensional quantum magnets, capturing low-energy properties and bound states. Nevertheless, challenges remain in accurately describing high-energy features arising from a persistent overlap of magnon sectors due to strong binding effects.