Mott physics and first-order transition between two metals in the normal-state phase diagram of the two-dimensional Hubbard model

G. Sordi, K. Haule, A. -M. S. Tremblay

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

For doped two-dimensional Mott insulators in their normal state, the challenge is to understand the evolution from a conventional metal at high doping to a strongly correlated metal near the Mott insulator at zero doping. To this end, we solve the cellular dynamical mean-field equations for the two-dimensional Hubbard model using a plaquette as the reference quantum impurity model and continuous-time quantum Monte Carlo method as impurity solver. The normal-state phase diagram as a function of interaction strength U, temperature T, and filling n shows that, upon increasing n toward the Mott insulator, there is a surface of first-order transition between two metals at nonzero doping. That surface ends at a finite temperature critical line originating at the half-filled Mott critical point. Associated with this transition, there is a maximum in scattering rate as well as thermodynamic signatures. These findings suggest a new scenario for the normal-state phase diagram of the high temperature superconductors. The criticality surmised in these systems can originate not from a T = 0 quantum critical point, nor from the proximity of a long-range ordered phase, but from a low temperature transition between two types of metals at finite doping. The influence of Mott physics therefore extends well beyond half-filling.
Original languageEnglish
Article numberARTN 075161
Number of pages25
JournalPhysical Review B
Volume84
Issue number7
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 17 Aug 2011

Keywords

  • T-C SUPERCONDUCTOR
  • D-WAVE SUPERCONDUCTIVITY
  • CRITICAL-BEHAVIOR
  • CUPRATE SUPERCONDUCTORS
  • HIGH-TEMPERATURE SUPERCONDUCTIVITY
  • INFINITE DIMENSIONS
  • MEAN-FIELD THEORY
  • FERMI-SURFACE
  • QUANTUM CRITICAL-POINT
  • INSULATOR TRANSITIONS

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