The cluster slave-spin method is introduced to systematically investigate the solutions of the Hubbard model including the symmetry-broken phases. In this method, the electron operator is factorized into a fermionic spinon describing the physical spin and a slave-spin describing the charge fluctuations. Following the
U(1) formalism derived by Yu and Si [Phys. Rev. B 86, 085104 (2012)], it is shown that the self-consistent equations to explore various symmetry-broken density wave states can be constructed in general with a cluster of multiple slave-spin sites. We employ this method to study the antiferromagnetic (AFM) state in the single band Hubbard model with the two- and four-site clusters of slave spins. While the Hubbard gap, the charge gap due to the doubly occupied states, scales with the Hubbard interaction
U as expected, the AFM gap $\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Delta}}$, the gap in the spinon dispersion in the AFM state, exhibits a crossover from the weak- to strong-coupling behaviors as
U increases. Our cluster slave-spin method reproduces not only the traditional mean-field behavior of $\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Delta}}\ensuremath{\sim}U$ in the weak-coupling limit, but also the behavior of $\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Delta}}\ensuremath{\sim}{t}^{2}/U$ predicted by the superexchange mechanism in the strong-coupling limit. In addition, the holon-doublon correlator as functions of
U and doping
x is also computed, which exhibits a strong tendency toward the holon-doublon binding in the strong coupling regime. We further show that the quasiparticle weight obtained by the cluster slave-spin method is in a good agreement with the generalized Gutzwiller approximation in both AFM and paramagnetic states, and the results can be improved beyond the generalized Gutzwiller approximation as the cluster is enlarged from a single site to four sites. Our results demonstrate that the cluster slave-spin method can be a powerful tool to systematically investigate the strongly correlated system.
A slave-spin representation of fermion operators has recently been proposed for the half-filled single and multiband Hubbard model. We show that with the addition of a gauge variable, the formalism can be extended to finite doping. We solve the resulting spin problem using the cluster mean-field approximation. This approximation takes short-range correlations into account by exact diagonalization on the cluster, whereas long-range correlations beyond the size of clusters are treated at the mean-field level. In the limit where the cluster has only one site and the interaction strength
U is infinite, this approach reduces to the Gutzwiller approximation. There are some qualitative differences when the size of the cluster is finite. We first compute the critical
U for the Mott transition as a function of a frustrating nearest-neighbor interaction on lattices relevant for various correlated systems, namely, the cobaltates, the layered organic superconductors and the high-temperature superconductors. For the triangular lattice, we also study the extended Hubbard model with nearest-neighbor repulsion. In addition to a uniform metallic state, we find a $\sqrt{(3)}\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}\sqrt{(3)}$ charge density wave in a broad doping regime, including commensurate ones. We find that in the large
U limit, intersite Coulomb repulsion
V strongly suppresses the single-particle weight of the metallic state.
Building on the work by Florens and Georges [Phys. Rev. B 70, 035114 (2004)], we formulate and study a self-consistent slave rotor mean-field theory for strongly correlated systems. This approach views the electron, in the strong correlation regime, as a composite of a neutral spinon and a charged rotor field. We solve the coupled spinon-rotor model self-consistently using a cluster mean-field theory for the rotors and various Ans\"atze for the spinon ground state. We illustrate this approach with a number of examples relevant to ongoing experiments in strongly correlated electronic systems such as (i) the phase diagram of the isotropic triangular lattice organic Mott insulators, (ii) quasiparticle excitations and tunneling asymmetry in the weakly doped cuprate superconductors, and (iii) the cyclotron mass of carriers in commensurate spin-density wave and U(1) staggered flux (or
d-density wave) normal states of the underdoped cuprates. We compare the estimated cyclotron mass with results from recent quantum oscillation experiments on ortho-II
YBa2Cu3O6.5 by Doiron-Leyraud et al. [Nature (London) 447, 565 (2007)] which appear to find Fermi pockets in the magnetic field induced normal state. We comment on the relation of this normal ground state to Fermi arcs seen in photoemission experiments above
Tc. This slave rotor mean-field theory can be generalized to study inhomogeneous states and strongly interacting models relevant to ultracold atoms in optical lattices.
We review the study of a cluster spin method in the Hubbard model. Based on the spin chargeseparation theory, the electron operator is decomposed into the product of a fermionic spinon and aslave spin
(S=1/2), which represents the physical charge and spin degrees of freedom, respectively.Zeng et al. confirmed the first-order metal-insulator Mott transition in the paramagnetic statein a square lattice based on the saddle point approximation. Moreover, the relationship betweenthe staggered magnetization and the antiferromagnetic gap is established through asymptoticexpansion. They systematically investigated the staggered magnetization with doping and couplingstrength as parameters. Zeng et al. confirmed the absence of the intermediate spin liquid statein the honeycomb lattice and the first-order metal-insulator Mott transition in the paramagneticstate. The compressibility near van Hove singularity is suppressed most drastically by interaction,while that at low energy (i.e., near the Dirac points) remains close to the noninteracting one,indicating the robustness of the Dirac cone structure. Similarly, the overall phase diagram ofcoupling strength (
U)-doping plane (
δ) is presented.
In this paper, we develop a new type of slave particle method which is similar to the slave rotor model except that the quantum rotor is substituted by a spin one slave particle. The spin-one slave particle itself can be represented in terms of Schwinger bosons/fermions. This approach is more conveniently applicable to the strongly correlated Hamiltonians with on-site Hubbard interaction and resolves the limitations of using the slave rotor model as well as the Anderson-Zou slave particle technique. For instance, the mean-field parameters of the slave spin method do not vanish above the Mott transition and this approach is smoothly connected to the non-interacting limit. As an example, we study the phase diagram of the Kane-Mele-Hubbard model using our current approach. In the absence of the spin-orbit interaction, the Mott transition occurs at
Uc 3t1. Several aspects of the slave spin method, its gauge theory and various possible mean-field states associated with this approach have been discussed.
A fermion-spin transformation is used to implement the charge-spin separation, and is developed to study the low-dimensional t-J model. In this approach, the charge and spin degrees of freedom of the physical electron are separated, and the charge degree of freedom is represented by a spinless fermion while the spin degree of freedom is representd by a hard-core boson. The on-site local constraint for single occupancy is satisfied even in the mean-field approximation and the sum rule for the physical electron is obeyed. This approach can be applied to both one and two-dimensional systems. In the one-dimensional case, the spinon as well as the physical electron behave like Luttinger liquids. We have obtained a gapless charge and spin excitation spectrum, a good ground state energy, and a reasonable electron-momentum distribution within the mean-field approximation. The correct exponents of the correlation functions and momentum distribution are also obtained if the squeezing effect and rearrangement of the spin configurations are taken into account. In the two-dimensional case, within the mean-field approximation the magnetized flux state with a gap in the spinon spectrum has the lowest energy at half filling. The antiferromagnetic long-range order is destroyed by hole doping of the order \ensuremath{\sim}10-15 % for t/J=3-5 and a disordered flux state with gapless spinon spectrum becomes stable. The calculated specific heat is roughly consistent with observed results on copper oxide superconductors. The possible phase separation is also discussed at the mean-field level.