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arXiv:2610.08512

Dynamical vertex approximation for retarded interactions: Application to the Hubbard-Holstein model

Emin Moghadas, Samuele Giuli, Massimo Capone, A. Toschi

Published Oct 6, 2026• 0 citations
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Abstract

We extend the dynamical vertex approximation (D$Γ$A), in its most commonly used ladder-version, to systems with retarded electronic interactions. Such an extended scheme, which we name "dynamical-$U$ D$Γ$A", allows us to study strongly interacting electrons coupled to bosons including non-local spatial correlations on all length scales on top of the purely local ones captured by dynamical mean-field theory. We demonstrate the applicability of the method in the specific case of the coupling to a single dispersionless phononic mode, by studying the Hubbard-Holstein model on the square and cubic lattices, focusing on regimes of sizable Hubbard interactions where strong electronic correlations compete with phonon-mediated interactions. As illustrative examples, we consider the antiferromagnetic phase in the three-dimensional model and the d-wave superconductor in two dimensions, analyzing the effect of the electron-phonon coupling, including its frequency dependence, on both instabilities.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.2610.08512

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We extend the dynamical vertex approximation (DΓΓΓA), in its most commonly used ladder-version, to systems with retarded electronic interactions. Such an extended scheme, which we name "dynamical-UUU DΓΓΓA", allows us to study strongly interacting electrons coupled to bosons including non-local spatial correlations on all length scales on top of the purely local ones captured by dynamical mean-field theory. We demonstrate the applicability of the method in the specific case of the coupling to a single dispersionless phononic mode, by studying the Hubbard-Holstein model on the square and cubic lattices, focusing on regimes of sizable Hubbard interactions where strong electronic correlations compete with phonon-mediated interactions. As illustrative examples, we consider the antiferromagnetic phase in the three-dimensional model and the d-wave superconductor in two dimensions, analyzing the effect of the electron-phonon coupling, including its frequency dependence, on both instabilities.
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Dynamical mean-field theory computations of the electron self energy of the Hubbard-Holstein model as a function of electron-phonon and electron-electron interactions are analyzed to gain insight into the dependence of electron-phonon couplings on correlation strength in quantum materials. We find that the electron-phonon interaction is strongly suppressed by electronic correlations, while electron-electron correlation effects at Fermi liquid scales are only weakly modified by coupling to phonons, with phonon-induced modifications most evident at high frequencies on the order of the electronic bandwidth. Implications for beyond-density functional theories of the electron-phonon interaction are discussed.
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We study the Holstein-Hubbard model at half filling to explore ordered phases including superconductivity (SC), antiferromagnetism (AF), and charge order (CO) in situations where the electron-electron and electron-phonon interactions are strong (comparable to the electronic bandwidth). The model is solved in the dynamical mean-field approximation with a continuous-time quantum Monte Carlo impurity solver. We determine the superconducting transition temperature Tc{T}_{c}Tc​ and the SC order parameter and show that the phonon-induced retardation or the strong Coulomb interaction leads to a significant reduction and shift of the Tc{T}_{c}Tc​ dome against the effective electron-electron interaction Ueff{U}_{\text{eff}}Ueff​ given by the Hubbard UUU reduced by the phonon-mediated attraction in the static limit. This behavior is analyzed by comparison to an effective static model in the polaron representation with a renormalized bandwidth. In addition, we discuss the superconducting gap $\ensuremath{\Delta}$ and $2\ensuremath{\Delta}/{T}_{c}$ to reveal the effect of the retardation and the Coulomb interaction. We also determine the finite-temperature phase diagram including AF and CO. In the moderate-coupling regime, there is a hysteretic region of AF and CO around Ueff=0{U}_{\mathrm{eff}}=0Ueff​=0, while the two phases are separated by a paramagnetic metal in the weak-coupling regime and a paramagnetic insulator in the strong-coupling regime.
In this paper, we investigate how nonlocal correlations affect, selectively, the physics of correlated electrons over different energy scales, from the Fermi level to the band edges. This goal is achieved by applying a diagrammatic extension of dynamical mean field theory (DMFT), the dynamical vertex approximation $(\mathrm{D}\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Gamma}}\mathrm{A})$, to study several spectral and thermodynamic properties of the unfrustrated Hubbard model in two and three dimensions. Specifically, we focus first on the low-energy regime by computing the electronic scattering rate and the quasiparticle mass renormalization for decreasing temperatures at a fixed interaction strength. This way, we obtain a precise characterization of the several steps through which the Fermi-liquid physics is progressively destroyed by nonlocal correlations. Our study is then extended to a broader energy range, by analyzing the temperature behavior of the kinetic and potential energy, as well as of the corresponding energy distribution functions. Our findings allow us to identify a smooth but definite evolution of the nature of nonlocal correlations by increasing interaction: They either increase or decrease the kinetic energy w.r.t. DMFT depending on the interaction strength being weak or strong, respectively. This reflects the corresponding evolution of the ground state from a nesting-driven (Slater) to a superexchange-driven (Heisenberg) antiferromagnet (AF), whose fingerprints are, thus, recognizable in the spatial correlations of the paramagnetic phase. Finally, a critical analysis of our numerical results of the potential energy at the largest interaction allows us to identify possible procedures to improve the ladder-based algorithms adopted in the dynamical vertex approximation.
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