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arXiv:1907.11298 · Physical review. B./Physical review. B

Alleviating the sign problem in quantum Monte Carlo simulations of spin-orbit-coupled multiorbital Hubbard models

Aaram J. Kim, Philipp Werner, Roser Valentí

Published Jan 9, 2020• 27 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We present a strategy to alleviate the sign problem in continuous-time quantum Monte Carlo (CTQMC) simulations of the dynamical-mean-field-theory (DMFT) equations for the spin-orbit-coupled multiorbital Hubbard model. We first identify the combinations of rotationally invariant Hund coupling terms present in the relativistic basis which lead to a severe sign problem. Exploiting the fact that the average sign in CTQMC depends on the choice of single-particle basis, we propose a bonding-antibonding basis ${V}_{j3/2\mathrm{BA}}$ which shows an improved average sign compared to the widely used relativistic basis for most parameter sets investigated. We then generalize this procedure by introducing a stochastic optimization algorithm that exploits the space of single-particle bases and show that ${V}_{j3/2\mathrm{BA}}$ is very close to optimal within the parameter space investigated. Our findings enable more efficient DMFT simulations of materials with strong spin-orbit coupling.

DOI
10.1103/physrevb.101.045108

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We present a strategy to alleviate the sign problem in continuous-time quantum Monte Carlo (CTQMC) simulations of the dynamical-mean-field-theory (DMFT) equations for the spin-orbit-coupled multiorbital Hubbard model. We first identify the combinations of rotationally invariant Hund coupling terms present in the relativistic basis which lead to a severe sign problem. Exploiting the fact that the average sign in CTQMC depends on the choice of single-particle basis, we propose a bonding-antibonding basis Vj3/2BA{V}_{j3/2\mathrm{BA}}Vj3/2BA​ which shows an improved average sign compared to the widely used relativistic basis for most parameter sets investigated. We then generalize this procedure by introducing a stochastic optimization algorithm that exploits the space of single-particle bases and show that Vj3/2BA{V}_{j3/2\mathrm{BA}}Vj3/2BA​ is very close to optimal within the parameter space investigated. Our findings enable more efficient DMFT simulations of materials with strong spin-orbit coupling.
We implement a multiorbital cluster dynamical mean-field theory (DMFT) by improving a sample update algorithm in the continuous-time quantum Monte Carlo method based on the interaction expansion. The proposed sampling scheme for the spin-flip and pair-hopping interactions in the two-orbital systems mitigates the sign problem, giving an efficient way to deal with these interactions. In particular, in the single-site DMFT, we see that the negative signs vanish. We apply the method to the two-dimensional two-orbital Hubbard model at half-filling, where we take into account the short-range spatial correlation effects within a four-site cluster. We show that, compared to the single-site DMFT results, the critical interaction value for the metal-insulator transition decreases and that the effects of the spin-flip and pair-hopping terms are less significant in the parameter region we have studied. The present method provides a firm starting point for the study of intersite correlations in multiorbital systems. It also has a wide applicable scope in terms of realistic calculations in conjunction with density functional theory.
Quantum Monte Carlo simulations of quantum many-body systems are plagued by the Fermion sign problem. The computational complexity of simulating Fermions scales exponentially in the projection time β and system size. The sign problem is basis dependent and an improved basis, for fixed errors, leads to exponentially quicker simulations. We show how to use sign-free quantum Monte Carlo simulations to optimize over the choice of basis on large two-dimensional systems. We numerically illustrate these techniques decreasing the "badness" of the sign problem by optimizing over single-particle basis rotations on one- and two-dimensional Hubbard systems. We find a generic rotation which improves the average sign of the Hubbard model for a wide range of U and densities for L×4 systems. In one example improvement, the average sign (and hence simulation cost at fixed accuracy) for the 16×4 Hubbard model at U/t=4 and n=0.75 increases by exp[8.64(6)β]. For typical projection times of β⪆100, this accelerates such simulation by many orders of magnitude.
In order to numerically study electron correlation effects in multiorbital systems, we propose a new type of discrete transformation for the exchange (Hund's coupling) and pair-hopping interactions to be used in the dynamical mean field theory+quantum\text{theory}+\text{quantum}theory+quantum Monte Carlo method. The transformation, which is real and exact, turns out to suppress the sign problem in a wide parameter region including non-half-filled bands. This enables us to obtain the dominant pairing symmetry in the double-orbital Hubbard model, which shows that the spin-triplet, orbital-antisymmetric pairing that exploits Hund's coupling is stable in a wide region of the band filling.
The negative sign problem in quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) simulations of cluster impurity problems is the major bottleneck in cluster dynamical mean-field calculations. In this paper, we systematically investigate the dependence of the sign problem on the single-particle basis. We explore both the hybridization-expansion and interaction-expansion variants of continuous-time QMC simulations for three-site and four-site impurity models with baths that are diagonal in the orbital degrees of freedom. We find that the sign problem in these models can be substantially reduced by using a nontrivial single-particle basis. Such bases can be generated by diagonalizing a subset of the intracluster hoppings.
We propose to combine the Trotter decomposition and a series expansion of the partition function for Hund's exchange coupling in a quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) algorithm for multiorbital systems that preserves spin and orbital rotational symmetries. This enables us to treat the Hund's (spin-flip and pair-hopping) terms, which is difficult in the conventional QMC method. To demonstrate this, we first apply the algorithm to study ferromagnetism in the two-orbital Hubbard model within the dynamical mean-field theory (DMFT). The result reveals that the preservation of the SU(2) symmetry in Hund's exchange is important, where the Curie temperature is grossly overestimated when the symmetry is degraded, as is often done, to Ising (Z2)({\mathrm{Z}}_{2})(Z2​). We then calculate the t2g{t}_{2g}t2g​ spectral functions of Sr2RuO4{\mathrm{Sr}}_{2}{\mathrm{RuO}}_{4}Sr2​RuO4​ by a three-band DMFT calculation with tight-binding parameters taken from the local density approximation with proper rotational symmetry.
Predicting the physical properties of strongly correlated electron systems (SCES) requires the combined Density Functional Theory and Dynamical Mean-Field Theory (DFT+DMFT) framework. However, the computational bottle-neck lies in the impurity solver. This work focuses on rigorously benchmarking the Multi-Orbital Iterated Perturbation Theory (MO-IPT) impurity solver against the numerically exact Continuous-Time Quantum Monte Carlo (CTQMC) method, specifically through a detailed study of the three-orbital Hubbard model. The two-orbital model serves as a canonical system to test performance under realistic multi-band conditions. Our systematically derived MO-IPT overcomes the critical limitations of CTQMC, including exponential scaling with orbital number, the need for analytic continuation, and the severe fermionic sign problem. By demonstrating high accuracy across varying interaction strengths and temperatures, we validate MO-IPT as an inexpensive, yet reliable, replacement solver essential for future material-specific investigations.