We investigate the ground state phase diagram of the half-filled repulsive Hubbard model in two dimensions in the presence of a staggered potential Delta, the so-called ionic Hubbard model, using cluster dynamical mean-field theory. We find that for large Coulomb repulsion, U >> Delta, the system is a Mott insulator (MI). For weak to intermediate values of Delta, on decreasing U, the Mott gap closes at a critical value Uc1(Delta) beyond which a correlated insulating phase with possible bond order is found. Further, this phase undergoes a first-order transition to a band insulator (BI) at Uc2(Delta) with a finite charge gap at the transition. For large Delta, there is a direct first-order transition from a MI to a BI with a single metallic point at the phase boundary.
We investigate the phases of the ionic Hubbard model in a two-dimensional square lattice using determinant quantum Monte Carlo. At half-filling, when the interaction strength or the staggered potential dominates, we find Mott and band insulators, respectively. When these two energies are of the same order, we find a metallic region. Charge and magnetic structure factors demonstrate the presence of antiferromagnetism only in the Mott region, although the externally imposed density modulation is present everywhere in the phase diagram. Away from half-filling, other insulating phases are found. Kinetic energy correlations do not give clear signals for the existence of a bond-ordered phase.
The Quantum Monte Carlo simulations of the ionic Hubbard model on a two-dimensional square lattice at half filling were performed. The method based on the direct-space, proposed by Suzuki and al., Hirsch and al., was used. Cycles of increasing and decreasing values of the Coulomb interaction $ U $ were performed for fixed temperature ($ kT=0.01 $). Results indicate that, at low temperature, the two insulator phases are separated by a metallic phase for weak to intermediate values of the staggered potential $ Δ$. For large Coulomb repulsion the system is in a Mott insulator with an antiferromagnetism order. On increasing and decreasing the Coulomb interaction $ U $ the metal-Mott insulator transition shows an hysteresis phenomenon while the metal-band insulator transition is continue. For large $ Δ$ it seems that the metallic region shrinks to a single metallic point. However, the band insulator to the Mott insulator transition is not direct for the studied model. A phase diagram is drawn for the temperature $ kT=0.01 $. For $ Δ=0.5 $ cycles of increasing and decreasing temperature were programmed for different values of the Coulomb interaction $ U $ . A behaviour change appears for $ U\simeq 1.75 $. This suggests that a crossover line divides the metallic region of the phase diagram.
An unusual metallic phase is argued to develop in the one-dimensional ionic Hubbard model, at half-filling and zero magnetization, at intermediate electron-electron repulsion
U when second-neighbors hopping is allowed and tuned close to a topological Lifshitz transition (connected with a change of the Fermi surface in the noninteracting system). The metallic state lies between a band insulator phase at low repulsion and a correlated (Mott-like) insulator phase at high repulsion. In approaching the latter, the model supports short-range antiferromagnetic order and spontaneous dimerization of both bond charge and nearest-neighbor antiferromagnetic correlations. A combination of mean-field and effective-field theory (bosonization) provides an analytical understanding of the physical processes underlying the argued phase transitions. The ground and low-energy excited states of finite-length chains are explored by density-matrix renormalization-group (DMRG) calculations, providing numerical evidence for the intermediate gapless phase. Such finite systems are attainable by cold atoms in optical lattices for a wide range of the parameter
U.
We investigate the ground-state phase diagram of the one-dimensional 'ionic' Hubbard model with an alternating periodic potential at half-filling by numerical diagonalization of finite systems with the Lanczos and density matrix renormalization group methods. We identify an insulator–insulator phase transition from a band to a correlated insulator with simultaneous charge and bond-charge order. The transition point is characterized by the vanishing of the optical excitation gap while simultaneously the charge and spin gaps remain finite and equal. Indications for a possible second transition into a Mott-insulator phase are discussed.
We investigate the ionic Hubbard model (IHM) at half-filling in the limit of strong correlations and large ionic potential. The low-energy effective Hamiltonian in this limit, obtained by a similarity transformation, is a modified $t\ensuremath{-}J$ model with effective second-neighbor hopping terms. We explore the possibilities of
d-wave pairing and extended
s-wave pairing superconducting (SC) phases on a two-dimensional square lattice at zero temperature within a Gutzwiller projected renormalized mean-field theory. In the sector of solutions that forbid spin-ordering, the system shows a finite nonzero
d-wave as well as extended
s-wave pairing amplitude for $\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Delta}}\ensuremath{\sim}U\ensuremath{\gg}t$. The width of the superconducting phase in $U\ensuremath{-}\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Delta}}$ regime shrinks with increase in
U and $\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Delta}}$, though the extended
s-wave pairing phase is higher in energy than the
d-wave pairing superconducting phase. But in a spin-resolved renormalized mean-field calculation, which allows for an antiferromagnetic (AF) order along with the
d-wave or extended
s-wave pairing, the SC phase is no longer viable and the system shows a direct transition from an AF ordered phase to a paramagnetic band insulator. Except for a thin sliver of a half-metallic AF phase close to the AF transition point, most of the AF ordered phase is a Mott insulator. We benchmarked the AF Mott insulator to band insulator transition within the Gutzwiller projected renormalized mean-field theory against the dynamical mean-field theory solved using continuous time quantum Monte Carlo. Our work suggests that the ground-state phase diagram of the IHM at half-filling in the limit of extreme correlations does not have any SC phase. The SC phase seen in the paramagnetic sector is a metastable phase, being higher in energy than the AF Mott insulator phase.