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arXiv:1306.3258 · Physical Review Letters

Dimerized Solids and Resonating Plaquette Order in SU(N) -Dirac Fermions

Thomas C. Lang, Zi Yang Meng, Alejandro Muramatsu, Stefan Weßel, Fakher F. Assaad

Published Aug 9, 2013• 73 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We study the quantum phases of fermions with an explicit SU(N)-symmetric, Heisenberg-like nearest-neighbor flavor exchange interaction on the honeycomb lattice at half filling. Employing projective (zero temperature) quantum Monte Carlo simulations for even values of N, we explore the evolution from a weak-coupling semimetal into the strong-coupling, insulating regime. Furthermore, we compare our numerical results to a saddle-point approximation in the large-N limit. From the large-N regime down to the SU(6) case, the insulating state is found to be a columnar valence bond crystal, with a direct transition to the semimetal at weak, finite coupling, in agreement with the mean-field result in the large-N limit. At SU(4) however, the insulator exhibits a subtly different valence bond crystal structure, stabilized by resonating valence bond plaquettes. In the SU(2) limit, our results support a direct transition between the semimetal and an antiferromagnetic insulator.

DOI
10.1103/physrevlett.111.066401

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We study the quantum phases of fermions with an explicit SU(N)-symmetric, Heisenberg-like nearest-neighbor flavor exchange interaction on the honeycomb lattice at half filling. Employing projective (zero temperature) quantum Monte Carlo simulations for even values of N, we explore the evolution from a weak-coupling semimetal into the strong-coupling, insulating regime. Furthermore, we compare our numerical results to a saddle-point approximation in the large-N limit. From the large-N regime down to the SU(6) case, the insulating state is found to be a columnar valence bond crystal, with a direct transition to the semimetal at weak, finite coupling, in agreement with the mean-field result in the large-N limit. At SU(4) however, the insulator exhibits a subtly different valence bond crystal structure, stabilized by resonating valence bond plaquettes. In the SU(2) limit, our results support a direct transition between the semimetal and an antiferromagnetic insulator.
The interplay between charge and spin degrees of freedom in strongly correlated fermionic systems, in particular of Dirac fermions, is a long-standing problem in condensed matter physics. We investigate the competing orders in the half-filled SU(2N)\mathrm{SU}(2N)SU(2N) Hubbard model on a honeycomb lattice, which can be accurately realized in optical lattices with ultracold large-spin alkaline-earth fermions. Employing large-scale projector determinant quantum Monte Carlo simulations, we have explored quantum phase transitions from the gapless Dirac semimetals to the gapped Mott insulating phases in the SU(4) and SU(6) cases. Both of these Mott insulating states are found to be columnar valence bond solid (cVBS) and to be absent of the antiferromagnetic N\'eel ordering and the loop current ordering. Inside the cVBS phases, the dimer ordering is enhanced by increasing fermion components and behaves nonmonotonically as the interaction strength increases. Although the transitions generally should be of first order due to a cubic invariance possessed by the cVBS order, the coupling to gapless Dirac fermions can soften the transitions to second order through a nonanalytic term in the free energy. Our simulations provide important guidance for the experimental explorations of novel states of matter with ultracold alkaline-earth fermions.
We employ the large-scale quantum Monte Carlo simulations to investigate the Mott-insulating states of the half-filled SU(4) Hubbard model on the square lattice with a staggered-flux pattern. The noninteracting band structure that evolves from a nested Fermi surface at zero flux to isotropic Dirac cones at $\ensuremath{\pi}$ flux, exhibits anisotropic Dirac cones as the flux varies in between. Our simulations show transitions between the three phases of the Dirac semimetal, antiferromagnet, and valence-bond solid. A direct continuous transition between the antiferromagnetic phase and the valence-bond-solid phase is realized via varying the flux in the Mott regime. The simulated critical exponents remarkably agree with those of SU(4) $J\text{\ensuremath{-}}Q$ model. Inside the valence-bond-solid phase induced by the flux, the plaquette valence-bond state with vanishing single-particle gap is identified. At strong coupling, the valence-bond-solid phase disappears and the Mott-insulating state is always accompanied by antiferromagnetic ordering, regardless of the magnitude of the flux.
Inspired by our recent works on SU(2) and SU(4) Dirac fermions subjected to plaquette interactions on square lattice, here we extend the large-scale quantum Monte Carlo investigations to the phase diagram of correlated Dirac fermions with SU(6) and SU(8) symmetries subjected to the plaquette interaction on the same lattice. From SU(2) to SU(8), the rich phase diagram exhibits a plethora of emerging quantum phases, such as Dirac semimetals, antiferromagnetic Mott insulators, valence bond solids (VBSs), and Dirac spin liquid and phase transitions, including Gross-Neveu chiral transitions with emergent continuous symmetry, deconfined quantum criticality, and the first-order transition between an interaction-driven columnar VBS and a plaquette VBS. These rich phenomena coming from simple-looking lattice models firmly convey the message that the interplay between the SU(N)\mathrm{SU}(N)SU(N) Dirac fermions (with enhanced internal symmetries) and extended plaquette interactions (beyond the on-site Hubbard type) is the new playground to synthesize novel highly entangled quantum matter both at the model level and with experimental feasibilities.
We investigate the SU(2N)\mathrm{SU}(2N)SU(2N) symmetry effects with 2N>22N>22N>2 on the two-dimensional interacting Dirac fermions at finite temperatures, including the valence-bond-solid transition, the Pomeranchuk effect, the compressibility, and the uniform spin susceptibility, by performing the determinant quantum Monte Carlo simulations of the half-filled SU(2N)\mathrm{SU}(2N)SU(2N) Hubbard model on a honeycomb lattice. The columnar valence-bond-solid (cVBS) phase only breaks the threefold discrete symmetry and thus can survive at finite temperatures. The disordered phase in the weak coupling regime is the thermal Dirac semi-metal state, while in the strong coupling regime it is largely a Mott state in which the cVBS order is thermally melted. The calculated entropy-temperature relations for various values of the Hubbard interaction UUU show that the Pomeranchuk effect occurs when the specific entropy is below a characteristic value of S∗{S}^{*}S∗---the maximal entropy per particle from the spin channel of local moments. The SU(2N)\mathrm{SU}(2N)SU(2N) symmetry enhances the Pomeranchuk effect, which facilitates the interaction-induced adiabatic cooling. Our work sheds light on future explorations of novel states of matter with ultracold large-spin alkaline fermions.
We investigate the ground state phase diagram of an extended Hubbard model with a $\ensuremath{\pi}$-flux hopping term at half filling on a square lattice, with unbiased large-scale auxiliary-field quantum Monte Carlo simulations. As a function of interaction strength, there emerges an intermediate phase which realizes two interaction-driven quantum critical points, with the first between the Dirac semimetal and an insulating phase of weak valence bond solid (VBS) order, and the second separating the VBS order and an antiferromagnetic insulating phase. These intriguing quantum critical points are respectively bestowed with Gross-Neveu and deconfined quantum criticalities, and the critical exponents ${\ensuremath{\eta}}_{\text{VBS}}=0.6(1)$ and ${\ensuremath{\eta}}_{\text{AFM}}=0.58(3)$ at a deconfined quantum critical point satisfy the conformal field theory bootstrap bound. We also investigate the dynamical properties of the spin excitation and find the spin gap open near the first transition and closed at the second. The relevance of our findings in realizing deconfined quantum criticality in fermion systems and the implication to lattice models with further extended interactions such as those in quantum moir\'e systems, are discussed.
The SU(4)-symmetric spin-orbital model on the honeycomb lattice was recently studied in connection to correlated insulators such as the eg{e}_{g}eg​ Mott insulator Ba3CuSb2O9{\mathrm{Ba}}_{3}{\mathrm{CuSb}}_{2}{\mathrm{O}}_{9}Ba3​CuSb2​O9​ and the insulating phase of magic-angle twisted bilayer graphene at quarter filling. Here we provide a unified discussion of these systems by investigating an extended model that includes the effects of Hund's coupling and anisotropic, orbital-dependent exchange interactions. Using a combination of mean-field theory, linear flavor-wave theory, and variational Monte Carlo, we show that this model harbors a quantum spin-orbital liquid over a wide parameter regime around the SU(4)-symmetric point. For large Hund's coupling, a ferromagnetic antiferro-orbital ordered state appears, while a valence-bond crystal combined with a vortex orbital state is stabilized by dominant orbital-dependent exchange interactions.