Electrons that are delocalized in space because of quantum effects can become localized by an external disordered potential (Anderson localization) or by their mutual Coulomb repulsion (Mott/Wigner localization). A simple model addresses what happens when both effects are present, how to quantify the degree of localization, and whether approximate methods can capture the relevant physics.
Electrons that are delocalized in space because of quantum effects can become localized by an external disordered potential (Anderson localization) or by their mutual Coulomb repulsion (Mott/Wigner localization). A simple model addresses what happens when both effects are present, how to quantify the degree of localization, and whether approximate methods can capture the relevant physics.
Real materials always contain, to some extent, randomness in the form of defects or irregularities. It is known since the seminal work of Anderson that randomness can drive a metallic phase to an insulating one, and the mechanism responsible for this transition is intrinsically different from the one of the interaction-induced transitions discovered by Mott. Lattice Hamiltonians, with their conceptual and computational advantages, permitted to investigate broadly the interplay of both mechanisms. However, a clear understanding of the differences (or not) with their real-space counterparts is lacking, especially in the presence of long-range Coulomb interactions. This work aims at shedding light on this challenging question by investigating a real-space one-dimensional model of interacting electrons in the presence of a disordered potential. The transition between delocalized and localized phases are characterized using two different indicators, namely the single-particle occupation entropy and the position-space information entropy. In addition, the performance of density functional approximations to reproduce the exact ground-state densities of this many-body localization model are gauged.
We consider the change in electron localization due to the presence of electron-electron repulsion in the Anderson-Hubbard model. Taking into account local Mott-Hubbard physics and static screening of the disorder potential, the system is mapped onto an effective single-particle Anderson model, which is studied within the self-consistent theory of electron localization. We find rich nonmonotonic behavior of the localization length $\ensuremath{\xi}$ in two-dimensional systems, including an interaction-induced exponential enhancement of $\ensuremath{\xi}$ for small and intermediate disorders although $\ensuremath{\xi}$ remains finite. In three dimensions we identify for half filling a Mott-Hubbard-assisted Anderson localized phase existing between the metallic and the Mott-Hubbard-gapped phases. For small U there is re-entrant behavior from the Anderson localized phase to the metallic phase.
We study the interplay of disorder localization and strong local interactions within the Anderson-Hubbard model. Taking into account local Mott-Hubbard physics and static screening of the disorder potential, the system is mapped onto an effective single-particle Anderson model, which is studied within the self-consistent theory of electron localization. For fermions, we find rich nonmonotonic behavior of the localization length ξ, particularly in two-dimensional systems, including an interaction-induced exponential enhancement of ξ for small and intermediate disorders and a strong reduction of ξ due to hopping suppression by strong interactions. In three dimensions, we identify for half filling a Mott-Hubbard-assisted Anderson localized phase existing between the metallic and the Mott-Hubbardgapped phases. For small U there is re-entrant behavior from the Anderson localized phase to the metallic phase. For bosons, the unrestricted particle occupation number per lattice site yields a monotonic enhancement of ξ as a function of decreasing interaction, which we assume to persist until the superfluid Bose- Einstein condensate phase is entered. Besides, we study cold atomic gases expanding, by a diffusion process, in a weak random potential. We show that the density-density correlation function of the expanding gas is strongly affected by disorder and we estimate the typical size of a speckle spot, i.e., a region of enhanced or depleted density. Both a Fermi gas and a Bose-Einstein condensate (in a mean-field approach) are considered.
We consider Anderson localization and the associated metal-insulator transition for non-interacting fermions in D = 1, 2 space dimensions in the presence of spatially correlated on-site random potentials. To assess the nature of the wavefunction, we follow a recent proposal to study momentum-space entanglement. For a D = 1 model with long-range disorder correlations, both the entanglement spectrum and the entanglement entropy allow us to clearly distinguish between extended and localized states based upon a single realization of disorder. However, for other models including the D = 2 case with long-range correlated disorder, we find that the method is not similarly successful. We analyze the reasons for its failure, concluding that the much desired generalization to higher dimensions may be problematic.
Mott insulators, in which strong Coulomb interactions fully localize electrons on single atomic sites, play host to an incredibly rich and exciting array of strongly correlated physics. One can naturally extend this concept to cluster Mott insulators, wherein electrons localize not on single atoms but across clusters of atoms, forming "molecules in solids". The resulting localized degrees of freedom incorporate the full spectrum of electronic degrees of freedom, spin, orbital, and charge. These serve as the building blocks for cluster Mott insulators, and understanding them is an important first step toward understanding the many-body physics that emerges in candidate cluster Mott insulators. Here, we focus on elementary building blocks, neglecting some of the complexity present in real materials which can often obfuscate the underlying principles at play. Through an extensive set of exact theoretical calculations on clusters of varying geometry, number of orbitals, and number of electrons, we uncover some of the basic organizing principles of cluster Mott phases, particularly when interactions dominate and negate a simple single-particle picture. These include, for example, the identification of an additional "cluster Hund's rule", of cluster ground states that are best understood from a purely interacting perspective, and of several localized degrees of freedom which are protected by an unusual combination of discrete spatial or orbital symmetries. Finally, we discuss the impact of adding additional terms, relevant to material candidates, on the phase diagrams presented throughout, as well as the potential next steps in the journey to building a more complete picture of cluster Mott insulators.
This dissertation examines the impact of long-range interactions in lattice models of low-dimensional strongly correlated systems with a focus on their relevance to anomalous electronic transport. Traditionally, the Hubbard model forms the basis of theoretical and numerical investigations of strongly correlated quantum matter. This effective model constitutes the simplest model of electronic correlation and relies on an approximation that truncates electron-electron interactions to a local, on-site potential. While this approximation has proved valid in several instances, certain unexplained phenomena in correlated materials challenge us to develop new perspectives and approaches.In the first part of this thesis, we discuss the historical motivation for our current work from both a theoretical and an experimental viewpoint. In particular, we cover the discovery of bad metallic transport and the associated breakdown of Boltzmann theory of electron transport. We further review examples of strongly correlated systems that exhibit bad metallic transport and other exotic phenomena that suggest the possibility of poorly screened electronic interactions acting as a common microscopic mechanism. This general feature justifies the development of a theoretical framework that is capable of examining long-range interactions in a controlled, systematic manner.Motivated by this, we analyze a long-range interacting lattice model for spinless electrons in two dimensions via exact diagonalization on a finite cluster in real space. As this method is susceptible to finite-size errors, we discuss at length its implementation and technical details designed specifically to reduce these errors, namely the use of twisted boundary conditions and the Ewald summation. We determine the phase diagram at zero temperature and demonstrate that the long-range interactions act as a source of self-generated disorder that drives the development of a strongly correlated pseudogap phase, in a manner reminiscent of the classical Efros-Shklovskii Coulomb gap. Furthermore, we establish that this phenomenon is independent of lattice geometry, a fact that represents the broad potential of long-range interactions in giving rise to a novel form of strongly correlated behavior.Following our zero-temperature study, we address the question of whether this self-generated disorder can survive in the presence of thermal fluctuations and local Coulomb repulsion (Hubbard terms) relevant in Mott systems, a situation closer to those in experimental systems. By means of classical Monte Carlo calculations, we show that not only does the self-generated disorder survive, but that it also acts as a microscopic mechanism that generates bad metallic transport. Upon further investigation, we determine that the long-range interactions, in combination with quantum fluctuations, cause a transient localization of the charge carriers, thereby suppressing the conductivity values below those predicted in conventional Boltzmann theory, as observed experimentally.In conclusion, we have established that long-range interactions in electronic models act as a microscopic mechanism that is capable of causing exotic phenomena in numerous materials. We conclude that a proper treatment of both quantum fluctuations and long-range interactions should next be studied with the finite temperature Lanczos method, which will act as a bridge between our exact diagonalization and Monte Carlo studies. Overall, this dissertation emphasizes the capability of long-range interactions to produce novel phenomena and elicits further thought-provoking questions concerning the interplay with Mott-Hubbard physics and external disorder, crucial in metallic systems.