We investigate electron correlations in the two‐dimensional degenerate Hubbard model on the square lattice. By means of variational Monte Carlo simulations including nearest‐neighbor doublon‐holon correlations as well as on‐site correlations, we discuss the Mott transitions in the two‐orbital system at zero temperature.
We investigate the Mott transition in a two-dimensional two-orbital Hubbard model on a square lattice at half filling by using the variational Monte Carlo method. As a variational trial wave function, we consider Gutzwiller's on-site correlations and nearest-neighbor doublon-holon correlations. We calculate the ground-state energy and the other physical quantities, all of which clearly signal a first-order Mott transition. We thus obtain the phase diagram at zero temperature, where we find the coexistence region of the metal and the Mott insulator. We discuss how Hund's coupling affects the nature of the Mott transition in this system.
The nature of the metal-insulator Mott transition at zero temperature has been discussed for a number of years. Whether it occurs through a quantum critical point or through a first-order transition is expected to profoundly influence the nature of the finite-temperature phase diagram. In this paper, we study the zero temperature Mott transition in the two-dimensional Hubbard model on the square lattice with the variational cluster approximation. This takes into account the influence of antiferromagnetic short-range correlations. By contrast to single-site dynamical mean-field theory, the transition turns out to be first order even at zero temperature.
To understand the mechanism of Mott transitions in case of no magnetic influence, superfluid-insulator (Mott) transitions in the S=0 Bose Hubbard model at unit filling are studied on the square and triangular lattices, using a variational Monte Carlo method. In trial many-body wave functions, we introduce various types of attractive correlation factors between a doubly-occupied site (doublon, D) and an empty site (holon, H), which play a central role for Mott transitions, in addition to the onsite repulsive (Gutzwiller) factor. By optimizing distance-dependent parameters, we study various properties of this type of wave functions. With a hint from the Mott transition arising in a completely D-H bound state, we propose an improved picture of Mott transitions, by introducing two characteristic length scales, the D-H binding length ξdh and the minimum D-D exclusion length ξdd. Generally, a Mott transition occurs when ξdh becomes comparable to ξdd. In the conductive (superfluid) state, domains of D-H pairs overlap with each other (ξdh>ξdd); thereby D and H can propagate independently as density carriers by successively exchanging the partners. In contrast, intersite repulsive Jastrow (D-D and H-H) factors have little importance for the Mott transition.
The mechanism of Mott transition in the Hubbard model on the square lattice is studied without explicit introduction of magnetic and superconducting correlations, using a variational Monte Carlo method. In the trial wave functions, we consider various types of binding factors between a doubly-occupied site (doublon, D) and an empty site (holon, H), like a long-range type as well as a conventional nearest-neighbor type, and add independent long-range D-D (H-H) factors. It is found that a wide choice of D-H binding factor leads to Mott transitions at critical values near the band width. We renew the D-H binding picture of Mott transitions by introducing two characteristic length scales, the D-H binding length l_{DH} and the minimum D-D distance l_{DD}, which we appropriately estimate. A Mott transition takes place at l_{DH}=l_{DD}. In the metallic regime (l_{DH}>l_{DD}), the domains of D-H pairs overlap with one another, thereby doublons and holons can move independently by exchanging the partners one after another. In contrast, the D-D factors give only a minor contribution to the Mott transition.
We investigate the properties of the frustrated underdoped Hubbard model on the square lattice using two complementary approaches, i.e., the dynamical cluster extension of the dynamical mean-field theory and the variational Monte Carlo simulations of Gutzwiller-Jastrow wave functions with backflow corrections. We compare and discuss data for the energy and the double occupancies, as obtained from both approaches. At small dopings, we observe a rapid crossover from a weakly correlated metal at low interaction strength U to a non-Fermi-liquid correlated state with strong local spin correlations. Furthermore, we investigate the stability of the correlated state against phase separation. We observe phase separation only for large values of U or very large frustration. No phase separation is present for the parameter range relevant for the cuprates.