We describe a variational approach to solving Anderson impurity models by means of exact diagonalization. Optimized parameters of a discretized auxiliary model are obtained on the basis of the Peierls-Feynman-Bogoliubov principle. Thereby, the variational approach resolves ambiguities related to the bath discretization, which is generally necessary to make Anderson impurity models tractable by exact diagonalization. The choice of variational degrees of freedom made here allows systematic improvements of total energies over mean-field decouplings like Hartree-Fock. Furthermore, our approach allows us to embed arbitrary bath discretization schemes in total-energy calculations and to systematically optimize and improve on traditional routes to the discretization problem such as fitting of hybridization functions on Matsubara frequencies. Benchmarks in terms of a single orbital Anderson model demonstrate that the variational exact diagonalization method accurately reproduces free energies as well as several single- and two-particle observables obtained from an exact solution. Finally, we demonstrate the applicability of the variational exact diagonalization approach to realistic five-orbital problems with the example system of Co impurities in bulk Cu and compare it to continuous-time Monte Carlo calculations. The accuracy of established bath discretization schemes is assessed in the framework of the variational approach introduced here.
We describe a variational approach to solving Anderson impurity models by means of exact diagonalization. Optimized parameters of a discretized auxiliary model are obtained on the basis of the Peierls-Feynman-Bogoliubov principle. Thereby, the variational approach resolves ambiguities related to the bath discretization, which is generally necessary to make Anderson impurity models tractable by exact diagonalization. The choice of variational degrees of freedom made here allows systematic improvements of total energies over mean-field decouplings like Hartree-Fock. Furthermore, our approach allows us to embed arbitrary bath discretization schemes in total-energy calculations and to systematically optimize and improve on traditional routes to the discretization problem such as fitting of hybridization functions on Matsubara frequencies. Benchmarks in terms of a single orbital Anderson model demonstrate that the variational exact diagonalization method accurately reproduces free energies as well as several single- and two-particle observables obtained from an exact solution. Finally, we demonstrate the applicability of the variational exact diagonalization approach to realistic five-orbital problems with the example system of Co impurities in bulk Cu and compare it to continuous-time Monte Carlo calculations. The accuracy of established bath discretization schemes is assessed in the framework of the variational approach introduced here.
We develop a method for calculating the self-energy of a quantum impurity coupled to a continuous bath by stochastically generating a distribution of finite Anderson models that are solved by exact diagonalization, using the noninteracting local spectral function as a probability distribution for the sampling. The method enables calculation of the full analytic self-energy and single-particle Green's function in the complex frequency plane, without analytic continuation, and can be used for both finite and zero temperature at arbitrary fillings. Results are in good agreement with imaginary frequency data from continuous-time quantum Monte Carlo calculations for the single-impurity Anderson model and the two-orbital Hubbard model within dynamical mean-field theory (DMFT) as well as real frequency data for self-energy of the single-band Hubbard model within DMFT using the numerical renormalization group. The method should be applicable to a wide range of quantum impurity models and particularly useful when high-precision real frequency results are sought.
The dynamical mean-field theory (DMFT) maps a correlated lattice problem onto an impurity problem of a single correlated site coupled to an uncorrelated bath. Most implementations solve the DMFT equations using quantum Monte-Carlo sampling on the imaginary time and frequency (Matsubara) axis. We will here review alternative methods using exact diagonalization, i.e., representing the many-body ground state of the impurity as a sum over Slater determinants and calculating Green’s functions using iterative Lanczos procedures. The advantage being that these methods have no sign problem, can handle involved multi-orbital Hamiltonians (low crystal symmetry, spin-orbit coupling) and – when working completely on the real axis – do not need a mathematically ill-posed analytical continuation. The disadvantage of traditional implementations of exact diagonalization has been the exponential scaling of the calculation problem as a function of number of bath discretization points. In the last part we will review how recent advances in exact diagonalization can evade the exponential barrier thereby increasing the number of bath discretization points to reach the thermodynamic limit.
We extend a previously proposed rotation and truncation scheme to optimize quantum Anderson impurity calculations with exact diagonalization [Y. Lu, M. H\"oppner, O. Gunnarsson, and M. W. Haverkort, Phys. Rev. B 90, 085102 (2014)] to density-matrix renormalization group (DMRG) calculations. The method reduces the solution of a full impurity problem with virtually unlimited bath sites to that of a small subsystem based on a natural impurity orbital basis set. The later is solved by DMRG in combination with a restricted-active-space truncation scheme. The method allows one to compute Green's functions directly on the real frequency or time axis. We critically test the convergence of the truncation scheme using a one-band Hubbard model solved in the dynamical mean-field theory. The projection is exact in the limit of both infinitely large and small Coulomb interactions. For all parameter ranges, the accuracy of the projected solution converges exponentially to the exact solution with increasing subsystem size.
Two of the primary sources of error in the Cluster dynamical mean field theory (CDMFT) technique arise from the use of finite size clusters and finite size baths, which makes the development of impurity solvers that can treat larger systems an essential goal. In this work we introduce an impurity solver based on the recently developed dynamical variational Monte Carlo (dVMC) method. Variational Monte Carlo possesses a favorable scaling as a function of system size, which enables the treatment of systems beyond the reach of current exact diagonalization solvers. To benchmark the technique, we perform a systematic set of CDMFT calculations on the single-band one-dimensional Hubbard model. We compare to results obtained with an exact diagonalization solver for small clusters, and against the exact solution in the thermodynamic limit obtained by Lieb and Wu for larger clusters. The development of improved impurity solvers will help extend the reach of quantum cluster methods, which can be applied to a wide range of strongly correlated electron systems, promising new insights into their emergent behavior.
An essential role for the description of correlated quantum many-particle systems is played by impurity problems. These consist of a small number of localized orbitals, where the electrons are subject to a Coulomb-interaction, coupled to noninteracting bath degrees of freedom. Impurity models are used for the description of magnetic impurities in metals, of quantum points in nanostructures, and in the context of the dynamical mean field theory (DMFT). For their solution a large number of numerical methods exists. We mention here quantum Monte Carlo methods, the numerical renormalization group, or the exact diagonalization method. In this thesis we introduce a new approach to impurity problems, which is based on the functional renormalization group (fRG). In contrast to the methods mentioned above this approach is approximative, but it can be applied with comparatively lower numerical effort. The aim of this thesis is to examine the advantages and limits of this method. An important role in this connection is played by the single impurity Anderson model (SIAM), which is already understood very well with other methods and is seen as a prototype for models with strong local correlations. The spin fluctuations of this model are governed by the so-called Kondo energy scale and a central question of this thesis is whether this scale can be reproduced with our approach. We begin with a short introduction to the Green's function formalism for correlated quantum many particle systems. Then the fRG flow equations for the one-particle irreducible vertex functions are deduced, and several approximation schemes are discussed. In chapter 4 we introduce the fRG scheme used in this thesis. At first the SIAM is mapped to a semi-infinite chain, in which the interacting orbital is given by the first site of this chain. The system is then subdivided into two parts. The first part, which is called 'core', consists of the interacting orbital and the first L bath sites. The remaining bath sites form the second part. At the beginning both parts are decoupled from each other such that the core can be solved exactly. Starting with this exact solution the coupling between the core and the remaining bath sites is switched on slowly in a renormalization group flow. This way it is possible to calculate the one-particle and two-particle correlation functions on the correlated site. We call this flow scheme 'hybridization flow'. The flow equations are formulated in an effective theory on the first bath site outside the core, which turns out to be advantageous compared to other implementations of the hybridization flow. In chapter 5 this hybridization flow method is applied to the SIAM with semi-elliptic bath density of states. We discuss the differences which arise for different core-sizes (L = 0,1,2,3) and for different truncations of the fRG flow equations. In the cases L=0 and L=2 the local Fermi liquid properties of the SIAM and the associated Kondo scale can not be reproduced in both approximation schemes. For the core sizes L=1 and L=3 the ground state of the core is already a spin singlet state in the beginning of the flow and the Fermi liquid properties are reproduced. The Kondo energy scale, which determines the width of the central quasi-particle peak and the size of the local spin-susceptibility, is however not accurately resolved. This is partly due to the finite temperature used in our implementation such that for larger interaction strength the temperature is above the Kondo energy scale. The application of the hybridization flow method to quantum impurity problems in the context of the DMFT is discussed in chapter 6. In this approach lattice models with a local interaction, like the Hubbard model, are mapped to an effective impurity problem for a single lattice site embedded in a dynamical mean field representing the influence of the other electrons. This scheme is exact in infinitely many dimensions and a nonperturbative approximation method for finite-dimensional systems. In particular the Mott metal-insulator transition in the Hubbard model is successfully described by this method. One class of quantities, which is easily accessible from the hybridization flow scheme, is given by the local two-particle correlation functions. These play an essential role in non-local extensions of the DMFT. Therefore we mainly focus on these quantities. At first we apply our flow scheme to the Hubbard model on the Bethe lattice in infinite dimensions and calculate the local one-particle irreducible vertex functions in the insulating and the metallic phase in good agreement with previous calculations, which use the exact diagonalization method as impurity solver. After this we extend our flow scheme to a cluster DMFT method, which includes short-range antiferromagnetic correlations and calculate again the local and non-local vertex functions for the two-dimensional Hubbard model. We compare these to the results of the single-site DMFT.
We present an efficient exact diagonalization scheme for the extended dynamical mean-field theory and apply it to the extended Hubbard model on the square lattice with nonlocal charge-charge interactions. Our solver reproduces the phase diagram of this approximation with good accuracy. Details on the numerical treatment of the large Hilbert space of the auxiliary Holstein-Anderson impurity problem are provided. Benchmarks with a numerically exact strong-coupling continuous-time quantum Monte Carlo solver show better convergence behavior of the exact diagonalization in the deep insulator. Special attention is given to possible effects due to the discretization of the bosonic bath. We discuss the quality of real axis spectra and address the question of screening in the Mott insulator within extended dynamical mean-field theory.