In the self-consistent approximation for the two-dimensional mean-field model we found an analytic solution for the ground state with a coexisting $d$-wave symmetric bond ordered pair density wave (PDW) and spin (SDW) or charge (CDW) density waves, as observed in some high-temperature superconductors. In particular, the solution gives the same periodicity for CDW and PDW, and a pseudogap in the Fermi-excitation spectrum.
In the self-consistent approximation for the two-dimensional mean-field model we found an analytic solution for the ground state with a coexisting d-wave symmetric bond ordered pair density wave (PDW) and spin (SDW) or charge (CDW) density waves, as observed in some high-temperature superconductors. In particular, the solution gives the same periodicity for CDW and PDW, and a pseudogap in the Fermi-excitation spectrum.
Abstract Flat-band systems provide an ideal platform for studying strong electron correlations, in which multiple quasi-degenerate charge orders frequently coexist. Motivated by this context, we investigate the pair-density-wave (PDW) superconducting state in a quasi-one-dimensional Creutz lattice featuring two strictly flat bands. Using a renormalized mean-field approach for the strongly correlated t - J model, we obtain self-consistent solutions that demonstrate a PDW phase—characterized by finite-center-of-mass-momentum Cooper pairing—coexisting with charge density wave (CDW) and bond density wave (BDW) orders. Physically, this coexistence phenomenon originates from the perfect band nesting inherent to the flat-band system, which allows for changes in the particle momentum distributions without energy cost. Here, a pure PDW solution without CDW and BDW orders emerges in the underdoped regime when magnetic effects are neglected, while strong Hubbard correlations favor a pure CDW phase. We conclude that a robust PDW phase, accompanied by CDW and BDW orders, occupies the majority of the parameter space. Furthermore, both the PDW order parameter and its critical temperature scale linearly with the superexchange coupling strength—a hallmark of flat-band superconductivity. Overall, our results reveal that a PDW superconducting state can be realized on the Creutz lattice with strong correlations.
Motivated by exploring superconductivity in multi-orbital systems, we study two orbital models of spinful fermions representing (px,py) or (dxz,dyz) orbitals on the square lattice. For minimal interorbital t-J or t-V on-site interactions, a random phase approximation uncovers regimes of instability towards incommensurate dxy pair density wave (d-PDW) superconductivity with driven by interband pairing. We study the competition of PDW order with uniform nodal dxy pairing states and magnetic and charge density wave (CDW) instabilities. At strong coupling, we derive an effective hard-core Cooper pair Hamiltonian which we study using a bosonic Gutzwiller ansatz to reveal a period-2 PDW over a wide range of fillings as well as a checkerboard CDW at quarter-filling. Our results apply to correlated multi-orbital materials with quasi-1D bands, Hubbard models on the square-octagon lattice, and atomic fermions in p-orbitals. Our work highlights the role of the orbital content and multiband Fermi surfaces in stabilizing interband PDW states.
We provide a quasi-one-dimensional model which can support a pair-density-wave (PDW) state, in which the superconducting (SC) order parameter modulates periodically in space, with gapless Bogoliubov quasiparticle excitations. The model consists of an array of strongly interacting one-dimensional systems, where the one-dimensional systems are coupled to each other by local interactions and tunneling of the electrons and Cooper pairs between them. Within the interchain mean-field theory, we find several SC states from the model, including a conventional uniform SC state, PDW SC state, and a coexisting phase of the uniform SC and PDW states. In this quasi-1D regime we can treat the strong correlation physics essentially exactly using bosonization methods and the crossover to the 2D system by means of interchain mean-field theory. The resulting critical temperatures of the SC phases generically exhibit a power-law scaling with the coupling constants of the array, instead of the essential singularity found in weak-coupling BCS-type theories. Electronic excitations with an open Fermi surface, which emerge from the electronic Luttinger liquid systems below their crossover temperature to the Fermi liquid, are then coupled to the SC order parameters via the proximity effect. From the Fermi surface thus coupled to the SC order parameters, we calculate the quasiparticle spectrum in detail. We show that the quasiparticle spectrum can be fully gapped or nodal in the uniform SC phase and also in the coexisting phase of the uniform SC and PDW parameters. In the pure PDW state, the excitation spectrum has a reconstructed Fermi surface in the form of Fermi pockets of Bogoliubov quasiparticles.
Abstract Over the last two decades, the competing orders in high- T c cuprates have been intensely studied, such as charge density waves (CDW) and pair density waves (PDW), which are thought to play a crucial role in high-temperature superconductivity. Using the t - J model on a square lattice as the simplest model for high- T c cuprates, we employed the fermionic tensor product state (fTPS) method for numerical investigations. Here we show, to the best of our knowledge, several types of PDW states within the low-energy subspace of the t - J model are unveiled thanks to the fermionic cluster update method, alongside the well-known d -wave state. In particular, a kind of C 4 symmetric plaquette PDW state is most likely to survive at low dopings δ < 5%. We believe that the competition among these states in the underdoped region suggests the potential existence of a fluctuating quantum liquid of PDW states, which could serve as a natural starting point for exploring the pseudogap phase and understanding the key mechanisms of d-wave superconductivity. Furthermore, we discuss the potential experimental implications of our discovery.
The following thesis is divided in two main parts. Chapters 2, 3 and 4 are devoted to the study of the so called pair-density-wave (PDW) superconducting state and some of its connections to electronic liquid crystal (ELC) phases, its topological aspects in a one dimensional model and its appearance in a quasi-one dimensional system. On the other hand, chapter 5 is focused on the investigation of the classical statistical mechanics properties of dimers, in particular, the dimer model on the Aztec diamond graph and its relation with the octahedron equation. In chapter 2 we present a theory of superconducting states where the Cooper pairs have a nonzero center-of-mass momentum, inhomogeneous superconducting states known as a pair-density-waves (PDWs) states. We show that in a system of spin-1/2 fermions in two dimensions in an electronic nematic spin-triplet phase where rotational symmetry is broken in both real and spin space PDW phases arise naturally in a theory that can be analysed using controlled approximations. We show that several superfluid phases that may arise in this phase can be treated within a controlled BCS mean field theory, with the strength of the spin-triplet nematic order parameter playing the role of the small parameter of this theory. We find that in a spin-triplet nematic phase, in addition to a triplet p-wave and spin-singlet d-wave (or s depending on the nematic phase) uniform superconducting states, it is also possible to have a d-wave (or s) PDW superconductor. The PDW phases found here can be either unidirectional, bidirectional, or tridirectional depending on the spin-triplet nematic phase and which superconducting channel is dominant. In addition, a triple-helix state is found in a particular channel. We show that these PDW phases are present in the weak-coupling limit, in contrast to the usual Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov phases, which require strong coupling physics in addition to a large magnetic field (and often both). In chapter 3 we show that the pair-density-wave (PDW) superconducting state emergent in extended Heisenberg-Hubbard models in two-leg ladders is topological in the presence of an Ising spin symmetry and supports a Majorana zero mode (MZM) at an open boundary and at a junction with a uniform d-wave one-dimensional superconductor. Similarly to a conventional finite-momentum paired state, the order parameter of the PDW state is a charge-2e field with finite momentum. However, the order parameter here is a quartic electron operator and conventional mean-field theory cannot be applied to study this state. We use bosonization to show that the 1D PDW state has a MZM at a boundary. This superconducting state is an exotic topological phase supporting Majorana fermions with finite-momentum pairing fields and charge-4e superconductivity. In chapter 4 we provide a quasi-one-dimensional model which can support a PDW state. The model consists of an array of strongly-interacting one-dimensional systems, where the one-dimensional systems are coupled to each other by local interactions.Within the interchain mean-field theory (MFT), we find several SC states from the model, including a conventional uniform SC state, PDW SC state, and a coexisting phase of the uniform SC and PDW states. In this quasi-1D regime we can treat the strong correlation physics essentially exactly using bosonization methods and the crossover to the 2D system by means of interchain MFT. The resulting critical temperatures of the SC phases generically exhibit a power-law scaling with the coupling constants of the array, instead of the essential singularity found in weak-coupling BCS-type theories. Electronic excitations with an open Fermi surface, which emerge from the electronic Luttinger liquid systems below their crossover temperature to the Fermi liquid, are then coupled to the SC order parameters via the proximity effect. From the Fermi surface thus coupled to the SC order parameters, we calculate the quasiparticle spectrum in detail. We show that the quasiparticle spectrum can be fully gapped or nodal in the uniform SC phase and also in the coexisting phase of the uniform SC and PDW parameters. In the pure PDW state, the excitation spectrum has a reconstructed Fermi surface in the form of Fermi pockets of Bogoliubov quasiparticles. In chapter 5 we study the octahedron relation (also known as the A∞ T-system), obeyed in particular by the partition function for dimer coverings of the Aztec Diamond graph. For a suitable class of doubly periodic initial conditions, we find exact solutions with a particularly simple factorized form. For these, we show that the density function that measures the average dimer occupation of a face of the Aztec graph, obeys a system of linear recursion relations with periodic coefficients. This allows us to explore the thermodynamic limit of the corresponding dimer models and to derive exact “arctic” curves separating the various phases of the system.
We study the coexistence of pair- (PDW) and charge-density-wave (CDW) states within the single-band $t\text{\ensuremath{-}}J\text{\ensuremath{-}}U$ and Hubbard models of d-wave superconductivity and discuss our results in the context of the experimental observations for the copper-based compounds. In order to take the correlation effects into account with proper precision, we use the approach based on the diagrammatic expansion of the Gutzwiller wave function (DE-GWF), which goes beyond the renormalized mean-field theory in a systematic manner. According to our analysis of the $t\text{\ensuremath{-}}J\text{\ensuremath{-}}U$ model, the transition between the pure d-wave superconducting phase and the coexistent CDW+PDW phase takes place at $\ensuremath{\delta}\ensuremath{\approx}0.18$ (close to the optimal doping), with the modulated phase located in the underdoped regime. The situation is different for the case of the Hubbard model, where a narrow stability regime of a precursor nematic phase sets in preceding the formation of the modulated CDW+PDW state, with decreasing hole doping. The results conclude our comprehensive discussion of the standard phase diagram for high-TC superconducting compounds within the DE-GWF variational approach in the single narrow-band case [see J. Spa\l{}ek et al., Phys. Rev. B 95, 024506 (2017); M. Zegrodnik and Spa\l{}ek, Phys. Rev. B 95, 024507 (2017); Phys. Rev. B 96, 054511 (2017); New J. Phys. 20, 063015 (2018)].