The t-J model is believed to be a minimal model that may be capable of describing the low-energy physics of the cuprate superconductors. However, although the t-J model is simple in appearance, obtaining a detailed understanding of its phase diagram has proved to be challenging. We are therefore motivated to study modifications to the t-J model such that its phase diagram and mechanism for d-wave superconductivity can be understood analytically without making uncontrolled approximations. The modified model we consider is a t’- J_z J z -V model on a square lattice, which has a second-nearest-neighbor hopping t’ (instead of a nearest-neighbor hopping t, an Ising (instead of Heisenberg) antiferromagnetic coupling J_z J z , and a nearest-neighbor repulsion V. In a certain strongly interacting limit, the ground state is an antiferromagnetic superconductor that can be described exactly by a Hamiltonian where the only interaction is a nearest-neighbor attraction. BCS theory can then be applied with arbitrary analytical control, from which nodeless d-wave or s-wave superconductivity can result.
The Hubbard and closely related t-J models are exciting platforms for unconventional superconductivity (SC). Through state-of-the-art density matrix renormalization group calculations using the grand canonical ensemble, we address open issues regarding the ground-state phase diagram of the extended t-J model on a square lattice in the parameter regime relevant to cuprate superconductors. On large 8-leg cylinders, we demonstrate that the pure t-J model with only nearest-neighbor hoppings and superexchange interactions, for a wide range of doping ( δ = 0.1 to 0.2 ), hosts robust d-wave superconductivity possibly coexisting with weak unidirectional pair density wave. Furthermore, a small next nearest neighbor hopping t 2 suppresses pair and charge density waves, resulting in a uniform d-wave SC phase in both electron- and hole-doped cuprate model systems. Our work validates the t-J model as a proper minimum model for the emergence of superconductivity in cuprate superconductors.
Unravelling competing orders emergent in doped Mott insulators and their interplay with unconventional superconductivity is one of the major challenges in condensed matter physics. To explore the possible superconducting state in a doped Mott insulator, we study the square-lattice t-J model with both the nearest-neighbor and next-nearest-neighbor electron hoppings and spin interactions. By using the state-of-the-art density matrix renormalization group calculation with imposing charge U(1) and spin SU(2) symmetries on the six-leg cylinders, we establish a quantum phase diagram including three phases: a stripe charge density wave phase, a superconducting phase without static charge order, and a superconducting phase coexistent with a weak charge stripe order. Crucially, we demonstrate that the superconducting phase has a power-law pairing correlation that decays much slower than the charge density and spin correlations, which is a quasi-1D descendant of the uniform d-wave superconductor in two dimensions. These findings reveal that enhanced charge and spin fluctuations with optimal doping is able to produce robust d-wave superconductivity in doped Mott insulators, providing a foundation for connecting theories of superconductivity to models of strongly correlated systems.
We consider fermions on a two-dimensional lattice interacting repulsively on the same site and attractively on the nearest-neighbor sites. The model is relevant, for instance, to study the competition between antiferromagnetism and superconductivity in a Kondo lattice. We first solve the two-body problem to show that in the dilute and strong-coupling limit the s-wave Bose condensed state is always the ground state. We then consider the many-body problem and treat it at mean-field level by solving exactly the usual gap equation. This guarantees that the superconducting wave function correctly vanishes when the two fermions (with antiparallel spin) sit on the same site. This fact has important consequences for the superconducting state that are somewhat unusual. In particular this implies a radial node line for the gap function. When a next-neighbor hopping ${t}^{\ensuremath{'}}$ is present we find that the s-wave state may develop nodes on the Fermi surface.
Extensive numerical studies have demonstrated that the two-dimensional single-band Hubbard model contains much of the key physics in cuprate high-temperature superconductors. However, there is no definitive proof that the Hubbard model truly possesses a superconducting ground state or, if it does, of how it depends on model parameters. To answer these longstanding questions, we study an extension of the Hubbard model including an infinite-range
d-wave pair field term, which precipitates a superconducting state in the
d-wave channel. Using exact diagonalization on 16-site square clusters, we study the evolution of the ground state as a function of the strength of the pairing term. This is achieved by monitoring the fidelity metric of the ground state, as well as determining the ratio between the two largest eigenvalues of the
d-wave pair/spin/charge-density matrices. The calculations show a
d-wave superconducting ground state in doped clusters bracketed by a strong antiferromagnetic state at half filling controlled by the Coulomb repulsion
U and a weak short-range checkerboard charge ordered state at larger hole doping controlled by the next-nearest-neighbor hopping ${t}^{\ensuremath{'}}$. We also demonstrate that negative ${t}^{\ensuremath{'}}$ plays an important role in facilitating
d-wave superconductivity.
To understand the interplay of d-wave superconductivity and antiferromagnetism, we consider a two-dimensional extended Hubbard model with nearest neighbor attractive interaction. The Hamiltonian is solved in the mean field approximation on a finite lattice. In the impurity-free case, the minimum energy solutions show phase separation as predicted previously based on free energy argument. The phase separation tendency implies that the system can be easily rendered inhomogeneous by a small external perturbation. Explicit solutions of a model including weak impurity potentials are indeed inhomogeneous in the spin-density-wave and d-wave pairing order parameters. Relevance of the results to the inhomogeneous cuprate superconductors is discussed.
Our previous mean-field study concerning superconducting pairings in the extended Hubbard model with on-site repulsive and intersite attractive interaction and arbitrary electron density is extended to include the effects of nearest-neighbor exchange (
J) and correlated hopping (
K) interaction. Detailed numerical analysis of
s-,
p-, and
d-wave pairing solutions is performed for the two-dimensional square lattice with nearest- (
t) and next-nearest- (
t2) neighbor hopping, and the resulting mutual stability phase diagrams are given as a function of band filling and the interaction parameters. Antiferromagnetic exchange can enhance both the
d-wave and the extended
s-wave pairing. If it prevails over the repulsive intersite density-density interaction, such a term can be a leading mechanism for superconductivity. However, its effects strongly depend on the band filling and the
tt2 ratio, giving in particular for
t2=0 s-wave (
d-wave) pairing as most favorable in the low (high) density limit, but increasing
t2 can even reverse this tendency. The correlated hopping term which breaks the electron-hole symmetry affects
s-wave pairing mostly. A condensation transition (phase separation), possible in the presence of the attractive density-density interaction, is also analyzed within the random-phase approximation, and stability conditions of such an electron droplet phase with respect to other types of ordering are determined as a function of the band filling for the two-dimensional square lattice.