The infinite-dimensional half-filled Hubbard model can be mapped exactly with no additional constraint onto a model of free fermions coupled in a ${Z}_{2}$ gauge-invariant manner to auxiliary Ising spins in a transverse field. In this slave-spin representation, the zero-temperature insulator-to-metal transition translates into spontaneous breaking of the local ${Z}_{2}$ gauge symmetry, which is not forbidden in infinite dimensions, thus endowing the Mott transition of an order parameter that is otherwise elusive in the original fermion representation. We demonstrate this interesting scenario by exactly solving the effective spin-fermion model by dynamical mean-field theory both at zero and at finite temperature.
The infinite-dimensional half-filled Hubbard model can be mapped exactly with no additional constraint onto a model of free fermions coupled in a Z2 gauge-invariant manner to auxiliary Ising spins in a transverse field. In this slave-spin representation, the zero-temperature insulator-to-metal transition translates into spontaneous breaking of the local Z2 gauge symmetry, which is not forbidden in infinite dimensions, thus endowing the Mott transition of an order parameter that is otherwise elusive in the original fermion representation. We demonstrate this interesting scenario by exactly solving the effective spin-fermion model by dynamical mean-field theory both at zero and at finite temperature.
We review a representation of Hubbard-like models that is based on auxiliary pseudospin variables. These pseudospins refer to the local charge modulo two in the original model and display a local Z2 gauge freedom. We discuss the associated mean-field theory in a variety of different contexts which are related to the problem of the interaction-driven metal-insulator transition at half-filling including Fermi surface deformation and spectral features beyond the local approximation. Notably, on the mean-field level, the Hubbard bands are derived from the excitations of an Ising model in a transverse field and the quantum critical point of this model is identified with the Brinkman-Rice criticality of the almost localized Fermi liquid state. Nonlocal correlations are included using a cluster mean-field approximation and the Schwinger boson theory for the auxiliary quantum Ising model.
Finding microscopic models for metallic states that exhibit quantum critical properties is a major theoretical challenge. We calculate the dynamical local spin susceptibility $\ensuremath{\chi}(T,\ensuremath{\omega})$ for a Hubbard model at half-filling using dynamical mean-field theory, which is exact in infinite dimensions. Qualitatively distinct behavior is found in the different regions of the phase diagram: Mott insulator, Fermi liquid metal, bad metal, and a quantum critical region above the finite-temperature critical point. The signature of the latter is $\ensuremath{\omega}/T$ scaling, where $\ensuremath{\omega}$ is the frequency and T is the temperature. Our results are consistent with previous results showing scaling of the dc electrical conductivity, and they are relevant to experiments on organic charge-transfer salts.
Around a metal-to-insulator transition driven by repulsive interaction (Mott transition) the single-particle excitations and the collective excitations are equally important. Here we present results for the generic susceptibilities at zero temperature in the half-filled Hubbard model in infinite dimensions. Profiting from the high resolution of dynamic density-matrix renormalization at all energies, results for the charge, spin, and Cooper-pair susceptibilities in the metallic and the insulating phase are computed. In the insulating phase, an almost saturated local magnetic moment appears. In the metallic phase a pronounced low-energy peak is found in the spin response. It is the precursor of the magnetic moment in the insulator.
The Mott metal-insulator transition in the Hubbard model is studied by constructing a dynamical slave-boson mean-field theory in the limit of large lattice coordination number z that incorporates the binding between doubly occupied (doublon) and empty (holon) sites. On the Mott insulating side where all doublons and holons bond in real space into excitonic pairs leading to the charge gap, the theory simplifies considerably to leading order in 1/z and becomes exact on the infinite-z Bethe lattice. An asymptotic solution is obtained for a continuous Mott transition associated with the closing of the charge gap at a critical value of the Hubbard Uc and the corresponding doublon density ndc, hopping ${\ensuremath{\chi}}_{d}^{c}$ and doublon-holon pairing ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Delta}}}_{d}^{c}$ amplitudes. We find ${U}_{c}={U}_{\mathrm{BR}}[1\ensuremath{-}2{n}_{d}^{c}\ensuremath{-}\sqrt{z}({\ensuremath{\chi}}_{d}^{c}+{\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Delta}}}_{d}^{c})]\ensuremath{\simeq}0.8{U}_{\mathrm{BR}}$, where UBR is the critical value for the Brinkman-Rice transition in the Gutzwiller approximation captured in the static mean-field solution of the slave-boson formulation of Kotliar and Ruckenstein. Thus, the Mott transition can be viewed as the quantum correction to the Brinkman-Rice transition due to doublon-holon binding. Quantitative comparisons are made to the results of the dynamical mean-field theory, showing good agreement. In the absence of magnetic order, the Mott insulator is a U(1) quantum spin liquid with nonzero intersite spinon hopping that survives the large-z limit and lifts the 2N-fold degeneracy of the local moments. We show that the spinons are coupled to the doublons/holons by a dissipative compact U(1) gauge field in the deconfined phase, realizing the spin-charge separated gapless spin liquid Mott insulator.
A detailed quantitative study of the physical properties of the infinite-dimensional Hubbard model at half filling is presented. The method makes use of an exact mapping onto a single-impurity model supplemented by a self-consistency condition. This coupled problem is solved numerically. Results for thermodynamic quantities (specific heat, entropy, . . .), one-particle spectral properties, and magnetic properties (response to a uniform magnetic field) are presented and discussed. The nature of the Mott-Hubbard metal-insulator transition found in this model is investigated. A numerical solution of the mean-field equations inside the antiferromagnetic phase is also reported.