We investigate the role of kinetic energy for the stability of superconducting state in the two-dimensional Hubbard model on the basis of an optimization variational Monte Carlo method. The wave function is optimized by multiplying by correlation operators of site off-diagonal type. This wave function is written in an exponential-type form given as ψλ=exp(−λK)ψG for the Gutzwiller wave function ψG and a kinetic operator K. The kinetic correlation operator exp(−λK) plays an important role in the emergence of superconductivity in large-U region of the two-dimensional Hubbard model, where U is the on-site Coulomb repulsive interaction. We show that the superconducting condensation energy mainly originates from the kinetic energy in the strongly correlated region. This may indicate a possibility of high-temperature superconductivity due to the kinetic energy effect in correlated electron systems.
With high-Tc cuprates in mind, properties of correlated dx2-y2-wave superconducting (SC) and antiferromagnetic (AF) states are studied for the Hubbard (t-t'-U) model on square lattices, using a variational Monte Carlo method. We employ simple trial wave functions including only crucial parameters, such as a doublon-holon binding factor indispensable to describe correlated SC and normal states as doped Mott insulators. U/t, t'/t and δ(doping rate) dependence of relevant quantities are systematically calculated. As U/t increases, a sharp crossover of SC properties occurs at U_co/t \sim 10 from a conventional BCS type to a kinetic-energy-driven type for any t'/t. As δdecreases, U_co/t is smoothly connected to the Mott transition point at half filling. For U/t\lsim 5, steady superconductivity corresponding to the cuprates is not found, whereas the d-wave SC correlation function Pd^\infty rapidly increases for U/t\gsim 6 and becomes maximum at U=U_co. Comparing the δdependence of Pd^\infty with experimentally observed dome-shaped Tc and condensation energy, we find that the effective value of
U for the cuprates should be larger than the band width, for which the t-J model is valid. Analyzing the kinetic energy, we reveal that for U>U_co only doped holes (electrons) become charge carriers, which will make a small Fermi surface (hole pocket), but for UU_co is determined by two factors, i.e., the AF spin correlation, which creates singlet pairs (pseudogap), and the charge mobility dominated by Mott physics.
We study properties of normal, superconducting (SC) and CDW states for an attractive Hubbard model on the square lattice, using a variational Monte Carlo method. In trial wave functions, we introduce an interspinon binding factor, indispensable to induce a spin-gap transition in the normal state, in addition to the onsite attractive and intersite repulsive factors. It is found that, in the normal state, as the interaction strength
∣U∣/t increases, a first-order spin-gap transition arises at
∣Uc∣∼W (
W: band width) from a Fermi liquid to a spin-gapped state, which is conductive through hopping of doublons. In the SC state, we confirm by analysis of various quantities that the mechanism of superconductivity undergoes a smooth crossover at around $|U_{\ma{co}}|\sim |U_{\rm c}|$ from a BCS type to a Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) type, as
∣U∣/t increases. For $|U||U_{\ma{co}}|$, quantities such as the energy gain in the SC transition and superfluid stiffness, which is related to the cost of phase coherence, behave as
∼t2/∣U∣∝Tc, as expected in a bosonic scheme. In this regime, the SC transition is induced by a gain in kinetic energy, in contrast with the BCS theory. We refer to the relevance to the pseudogap in cuprate superconductors.
The ground state of the two-dimensional (2D) Hubbard model is investigated by adopting improved wave functions that take into account intersite electron correlation beyond the Gutzwiller ansatz. The ground-state energy is lowered considerably, giving the best estimate of the ground-state energy for the 2D Hubbard model. There is a crossover from weakly to strongly correlated regions as the on-site Coulomb interaction
U increases. The antiferromagnetic correlation induced by
U is reduced for hole doping when
U is large, being greater than the bandwidth, thus increasing the kinetic energy gain. The spin and charge fluctuations are induced in the strongly correlated region. These antiferromagnetic and kinetic charge fluctuations induce electron pairings, which would result in high-temperature superconductivity.
We investigate the ground state of the two-dimensional d-p model (three-band Hubbard model) by using a variational Monte Carlo method. The superconducting condensation energy is evaluated for the Gutzwiller-BCS wave function. We show that there is a crossover between strongly and weakly correlated regions as the level difference between d and p orbitals increases. The gap function and the condensation energy can be large in the crossover region. This result indicates a possibility of high-temperature superconductivity in the two-dimensional d-p model.
We use the variational cluster approximation to study the superconducting ground state in the two-dimensional attractive Hubbard model, putting particular emphasis on the significance of quantum fluctuations of the system. We first show that the order parameter is suppressed in comparison with that obtained using the mean-field theory owing to the effects of spatial fluctuations in two-dimensional systems. We then show that the calculated Bogoliubov quasiparticle spectra and condensation amplitude clearly exhibit the character of Cooper pairs in momentum space and that the pair coherence length
ξ evaluated from the condensation amplitude demonstrates a smooth crossover in real space from a weakly paired BCS state (
ξ≫a) to a BEC state of tightly bound pairs (
ξ≪a), where
a is the lattice constant. The calculated kinetic and potential energies in the superconducting and normal ground states indicate that the superconducting state in the weak-coupling region is driven by the gain in potential energy, while that in the strongcoupling region is driven by the gain in kinetic energy.