We numerically investigate the critical behavior of the Hubbard model on the honeycomb and the
π-flux lattice, which exhibits a direct transition from a Dirac semimetal to an antiferromagnetically ordered Mott insulator. We use projective auxiliary-field quantum Monte Carlo simulations and a careful finite-size scaling analysis that exploits approximately improved renormalization-group-invariant observables. This approach, which is successfully verified for the three-dimensional XY transition of the Kane-Mele-Hubbard model, allows us to extract estimates for the critical couplings and the critical exponents. The results confirm that the critical behavior for the semimetal to Mott insulator transition in the Hubbard model belongs to the Gross-Neveu-Heisenberg universality class on both lattices.
We take advantage of recent improvements in the grand canonical hybrid Monte Carlo algorithm, to perform a precision study of the single-particle gap in the hexagonal Hubbard model, with on-site electron-electron interactions. After carefully controlled analyses of the Trotter error, the thermodynamic limit, and finite-size scaling with inverse temperature, we find a critical coupling of ${U}_{c}/\ensuremath{\kappa}=3.834(14)$ and the critical exponent $z\ensuremath{\nu}=1.185(43)$. Under the assumption that this corresponds to the expected antiferromagnetic Mott transition, we are also able to provide a preliminary estimate $\ensuremath{\beta}=1.095(37)$ for the critical exponent of the order parameter. We consider our findings in view of the
SU(2) Gross-Neveu, or chiral Heisenberg, universality class. We also discuss the computational scaling of the hybrid Monte Carlo algorithm, and possible extensions of our work to carbon nanotubes, fullerenes, and topological insulators.
We present a systematic study of the quantum phase transition from a Dirac semimetal to an antiferromagnetic Mott insulator in the honeycomb-lattice Hubbard model, using finite-temperature auxiliary-field quantum Monte Carlo (AFQMC) simulations. Given the dynamical critical exponent
z=1 at criticality, we scale the inverse temperature
β with the linear system size
L, i.e.,
βt=L (with
t as the hopping amplitude), to approach the thermodynamic and zero-temperature limits simultaneously. On the algorithmic front, we generalize the fast Fourier transform in path propagation to multi-sublattice systems and employ the delayed update technique in configuration updates to accelerate the AFQMC simulations. These advances enable us to access unprecedented system sizes of up to
3528 sites (with
L=42 and
βt=42). We additionally use twist-averaged boundary conditions to reduce the finite-size effects in computed observables. On the physical side, we determine the Dirac quantum criticality via finite-size scaling analysis of the spin correlations and off-diagonal single-particle Green's function, and locate the critical point at
Uc/t=3.731(4) with the critical exponents
ν=1.097(7),
ηϕ=0.72(2) and
ηψ=0.155(6). We further corroborate the critical point by examining several relevant quantities, including the quasiparticle weight, Fermi-liquid parameter, charge compressibility,
U-derivative of double occupancy, and fidelity susceptibility. Our work establishes an independent benchmark for the chiral Heisenberg Gross-Neveu-Yukawa criticality in the honeycomb Hubbard model, offering a complementary perspective to previous ground-state simulations.
Quantum phase transitions driven by electronic correlations are central to understanding the physics of graphene and related two-dimensional materials. A paradigmatic example is the semimetal-to-Mott-insulator transition on the honeycomb lattice, governed by the Gross-Neveu-Heisenberg universality class, yet consensus on its critical exponents has remained elusive for over a decade due to severe finite-size effects and the absence of rigorous conformal bootstrap benchmarks. Here we try to resolve this long-standing controversy by performing projector determinant quantum Monte Carlo simulations on lattices of unprecedented size, reaching 10,368 sites. By developing a novel projected submatrix update algorithm, we achieve a significant algorithmic speedup that enables us to access the thermodynamic limit with high precision. We observe that the fermion anomalous dimension and the correlation length exponent converge rapidly, while the boson anomalous dimension exhibits a systematic size dependence that we resolve via linear extrapolation. To validate our analysis, we perform parallel large-scale simulations of the spinless
t-
V model on the honeycomb lattice, which belongs to the Gross-Neveu-Ising class. Our results for the
t-
V model show agreement with conformal bootstrap predictions, thereby corroborating the robustness of our methodology. Our work provides state-of-the-art critical exponents for the honeycomb Hubbard model and establishes a systematic finite-size scaling workflow applicable to a broad class of strongly correlated quantum systems, paving the way for resolving other challenging fermionic quantum critical phenomena.
We perform large-scale quantum Monte Carlo simulations of the Hubbard model at half filling with a single Dirac cone close to the critical point, which separates a Dirac semimetal from an antiferromagnetically ordered phase where SU(2) spin rotational symmetry is spontaneously broken. We discuss the implementation of a single Dirac cone in the SLAC formulation for eight Dirac components and the influence of dynamically induced long-range superexchange interactions. The finite-size behavior of dimensionless ratios and the finite-size scaling properties of the Hubbard model with a single Dirac cone are shown to be superior compared to the honeycomb lattice. We extract the critical exponent believed to belong to the chiral Heisenberg Gross-Neveu-Yukawa universality class: the critical exponent ν = 1.02 ( 3 ) coincides for the two lattice types once honeycomb lattices of linear dimension L > 15 are considered. In contrast to the SLAC formulation, where the anomalous dimensions are estimated to be η ϕ = 0.73 ( 1 ) and η ψ = 0.09 ( 1 ) , they remain less stable on honeycomb lattices, but tend towards the estimates from the SLAC formulation.
The Hubbard model on the honeycomb lattice undergoes a quantum phase transition from a semimetallic to a Mott insulating phase and from a disordered to an anti-ferromagnetically phase. We show that these transitions occur simultaneously and we calculate the critical coupling
Uc=3.835(14) as well as the critical exponents
ν=1.181(43) and
β=0.898(37) which are expected to fall into the
SU(2) Gross-Neveu universality class. For this we employ Hybrid Monte Carlo simulations, extrapolate the single particle gap and the spin structure factors to the thermodynamic and continuous time limits, and perform a data collapse fit. We also determine the zero temperature values of single particle gap and staggered magnetisation on both sides of the phase transition.