Including the previously ignored dispersion of phonons we revisit the metal-insulator transition problem in one-dimensional electron-phonon systems on the basis of a modified spinless fermion Holstein model. Using matrix-product-state techniques we determine the global ground-state phase diagram in the thermodynamic limit for the half-filled band case, and show that in particular the curvature of the bare phonon band has a significant effect, not only on the transport properties characterized by the conductance and the Luttinger liquid parameter, but also on the phase space structure of the model as a whole. While a downward curved (convex) dispersion of the phonons only shifts the Tomonaga-Luttinger-liquid to charge-density-wave quantum phase transition towards stronger EP coupling, an upward curved (concave) phonon band leads to a new phase-separated state which, in the case of strong dispersion, can even completely cover the charge-density wave. Such phase separation does not occur in the related Edwards fermion-boson model.
We examine the ground-state properties of the one-dimensional Edwards spinless fermion transport model by means of large-scale density-matrix renormalization-group calculations. Determining the single-particle gap and the Tomonaga-Luttinger liquid parameter (
Kρ) at zero temperature, we prove the existence of a metal-to-insulator quantum phase transition at one-third band filling. The insulator---established by strong correlation in the background medium---typifies a charge density wave (CDW) that is commensurate with the band filling.
Kρ=2/9 is very small at the quantum critical point, and becomes
KρCDW=1/9 in the infinitesimally doped three-period CDW, as predicted by the bosonization approach.
The nature of charge transport within a correlated background medium can be described by spinless fermions coupled to bosons in the model introduced by Edwards. Combining numerical density matrix renormalization group and analytical projector-based renormalization methods, we explore the ground-state phase diagram of the Edwards model in one dimension. Below a critical boson frequency, any long-range order disappears and the system becomes metallic. If the charge carriers are coupled to slow quantum bosons, the Tomonaga-Luttinger liquid is attractive and finally makes room for a phase separated state, just as in the
t-
J model. The phase boundary separating the repulsive from the attractive Tomonaga-Luttinger liquid is determined from long-wavelength charge correlations, whereas fermion segregation is indicated by a vanishing inverse compressibility. On approaching phase separation, the photoemission spectra develop strong anomalies.
The one-dimensional Holstein model and its generalizations have been studied extensively to understand the effects of electron-phonon interaction. The half-filled case is of particular interest, as it describes a transition from a metallic phase with a spin gap due to attractive backscattering to a Peierls insulator with charge-density-wave order. Our quantum Monte Carlo results support the existence of a metallic phase with dominant power-law charge correlations, as described by the Luther-Emery fixed point. We demonstrate that for Holstein and also for purely fermionic models the spin gap significantly complicates finite-size numerical studies, and explains inconsistent previous results for Luttinger parameters and phase boundaries. On the other hand, no such complications arise in spinless models. The correct low-energy theory of the spinful Holstein model is argued to be that of singlet bipolarons with a repulsive, mutual interaction. This picture naturally explains the existence of a metallic phase, but also implies that gapless Luttinger liquid theory is not applicable.
To understand how charge transport is affected by a background medium and vice versa we study a two-channel transport model which captures this interplay via a novel, effective fermion-boson coupling. By means of (dynamical) DMRG we prove that this model exhibits a metal-insulator transition at half-filling, where the metal typifies a repulsive Luttinger liquid and the insulator constitutes a charge density wave. The quantum phase transition point is determined consistently from the calculated photoemission spectra, the scaling of the Luttinger liquid exponent, the charge excitation gap, and the entanglement entropy.
The Hubbard-Holstein model describes fermions on a discrete lattice, with on-site repulsion between fermions and a coupling to phonons that are localized on sites. Generally, at half-filling, increasing the coupling
g to the phonons drives the system towards a Peierls charge density wave state, whereas increasing the electron-electron interaction
U drives the fermions into a Mott antiferromagnet. At low
g and
U, or when doped, the system is metallic. In one dimension, using quantum Monte Carlo simulations, we study the case where fermions have a long-range coupling to phonons, with characteristic range $\ensuremath{\xi}$, interpolating between the Holstein and Fr\"ohlich limits. Without electron-electron interaction, the fermions adopt a Peierls state when the coupling to the phonons is strong enough. This state is destabilized by a small coupling range $\ensuremath{\xi}$ and leads to a collapse of the fermions, and, consequently, phase separation. Increasing interaction
U will drive any of these three phases (metallic, Peierls, phase separation) into a Mott insulator phase. The phase separation region is once again present in the $U\ensuremath{\ne}0$ case, even for small values of the coupling range.
Electron-phonon interactions play a key role in many branches of solid-state physics. Here, our focus is on the transport properties of one-dimensional systems, and we apply efficient real-time matrix-product state methods to compute the optical and thermal conductivities of Holstein chains at finite temperatures and filling. We validate our approach by comparison with analytical results applicable to single polarons valid in the small polaron limit. Our work provides a systematic study of contributions to the thermal conductivity at finite frequencies and elucidates differences in the spectrum compared to the optical conductivity, covering both the Luttinger-liquid and charge-density-wave regimes. Finally, we demonstrate that our approach is capable of extracting the DC conductivities as well. Beyond this first application, several future extensions seem feasible, such as the inclusion of dispersive phonons, different types of local electron-phonon coupling, and a systematic study of drag effects in this electron-phonon coupled system.