Phase diagram of the Su-Schrieffer-Heeger-Hubbard model on a square lattice

Abstract

The Hubbard and Su-Schrieffer-Heeger (SSH) Hamiltonians are iconic models for understanding the qualitative effects of electron-electron and electron-phonon interactions, respectively. In the two-dimensional square lattice Hubbard model at half filling, the on-site Coulomb repulsion $U$ between up and down electrons induces antiferromagnetic (AFM) order and a Mott insulating phase. On the other hand, for the SSH model, there is an AFM phase when the electron-phonon coupling $\ensuremath{\lambda}$ is less than a critical value ${\ensuremath{\lambda}}_{c}$ and a bond order wave when $\ensuremath{\lambda}>{\ensuremath{\lambda}}_{c}$. In this Letter, we perform numerical studies on the square lattice optical Su-Schrieffer-Heeger-Hubbard Hamiltonian, which combines both interactions. We use the determinant quantum Monte Carlo method which does not suffer from the fermionic sign problem at half filling. We map out the phase diagram and find that it exhibits a direct first-order transition between an antiferromagnetic phase and a bond-ordered wave as $\ensuremath{\lambda}$ increases. The AFM phase is characterized by two different regions. At smaller $\ensuremath{\lambda}$ the behavior is similar to that of the pure Hubbard model; the other region, while maintaining long-range AFM order, exhibits larger kinetic energies and double occupancy, i.e., larger quantum fluctuations, similar to the AFM phase found in the pure SSH model.