We propose a quantum Rabi square model where both the nearest-neighbor and the next-nearest-neighbor photon hopping are allowed among four quantum Rabi systems located at the vertices of a square. By tuning the next-nearest hopping strength, we realize a first-order phase transition between the antiferromagnetic superradiant phase and the frustrated superradiant phase, as well as a second-order phase transition between the normal and the superradiant phases. To understand the emergence of such phases, we show analytically that the effect induced by next-nearest hopping is equivalent to that of an artificial gauge phase. Our findings suggest that the next-nearest-neighbor hopping can serve as an alternative for the gauge phase to realize quantum control in applications of quantum simulation and quantum materials and that our model represents a basic building block for the frustrated ${J}_{1}\text{\ensuremath{-}}{J}_{2}$ quantum spin model on square lattices.
In the half-filled one-orbital Hubbard model on a square lattice, we study the effect of next-nearest neighbor hopping on the single-particle spectral function at finite temperature using an exact-diagonalization + Monte-Carlo based approach to the simulation process. We find that the pseudogap-like dip, existing in the density of states in between the Néel temperature
TN and a relatively higher temperature
T∗, is accompanied with a significant asymmetry in the hole- and particle-excitation energy along the high-symmetry directions as well as along the normal-state Fermi surface. On moving from (
π/2,π/2) toward
(π,0) along the normal state Fermi surface, the hole-excitation energy increases, a behavior remarkably similar to what is observed in the
d-wave state and pseudogap phase of high-
Tc cuprates, whereas the particle-excitation energy decreases. The quasiparticle peak height is the largest near (
π/2,π/2) whereas it is the smallest near
(π,0). These spectral features survive beyond
TN. The temperature window
TN≲T≲T∗ shrinks with an increase in the next-nearest neighbor hopping, which indicates that the next-nearest neighbor hopping may not be supportive to the pseudogap-like features.