Can Orbital-Selective Néel Transitions Survive Strong Nonlocal Electronic Correlations?

Spin- or orbital-selective behaviors in correlated electron materials offer rich promise for spintronics or orbitronics phenomena and applications deriving from them. Strong local electronic Coulomb correlations might lead to an orbital-selective Mott state, characterized by the coexistence of localized electrons in some orbitals with itinerant electrons in others. Nonlocal electronic fluctuations are much more entangled in orbital space than the local ones. For this reason, finding orbital-selective phenomena related to nonlocal correlations, such as orbital-selective magnetic transitions, is a challenge. In this Letter, we investigate possibilities to realize an orbital-selective Néel transition (OSNT). We illustrate that stabilizing this state requires a decoupling of magnetic fluctuations in different orbitals, which can only be realized in the absence of Hund's exchange coupling. On the basis of two-orbital calculations for a Hubbard model with different bandwidths we show that the proposed OSNT can be found all the way from the weak to the strong coupling regime. In the weak coupling regime the transition is governed by a Slater mechanism and thus occurs first for the narrow orbital. At strong coupling a Heisenberg mechanism of the OSNT sets in, and the transition occurs first for the wide orbital. Remarkably, at intermediate values of the interaction we find a nontrivial regime of the OSNT, where the Slater mechanism leads to a Néel transition occurring first for the wide orbital. Our work suggests strategies for searching for orbital-selective Néel ordering in real materials in view of possible spin-orbitronics applications.

Local and Nonlocal Electronic Correlations at the Metal-Insulator Transition in the Two-Dimensional Hubbard Model.

Elucidating the physics of the single-orbital Hubbard model in its intermediate-coupling regime is a key missing ingredient to our understanding of metal-insulator transitions in real materials. Using recent nonperturbative many-body techniques that are able to interpolate between the spin-fluctuation-dominated Slater regime at weak coupling and the Mott insulator at strong coupling, we obtain the momentum-resolved spectral function in the intermediate regime and disentangle the effects of antiferromagnetic fluctuations and local electronic correlations in the formation of an insulating state. This allows us to identify the Slater and Heisenberg regimes in the phase diagram, which are separated by a crossover region of competing spatial and local electronic correlations. We identify the crossover regime by investigating the behavior of the local magnetic moment, shedding light on the formation of the insulating state at intermediate couplings.

Orbital Isotropy of Magnetic Fluctuations in Correlated Electron Materials Induced by Hund's Exchange Coupling.

Characterizing nonlocal magnetic fluctuations in materials with strong electronic Coulomb interactions remains one of the major outstanding challenges of modern condensed matter theory. In this Letter, we address the spatial symmetry and orbital structure of magnetic fluctuations in perovskite materials. To this aim, we develop a consistent multiorbital diagrammatic extension of dynamical mean-field theory, which we apply to an anisotropic three-orbital model of cubic t_{2g} symmetry. We find that the form of spatial spin fluctuations is governed by the local Hund's coupling. For small values of the coupling, magnetic fluctuations are anisotropic in orbital space, which reflects the symmetry of the considered t_{2g} model. Large Hund's coupling enhances collective spin excitations, which mixes orbital and spatial degrees of freedom, and magnetic fluctuations become orbitally isotropic. Remarkably, this effect can be seen only in two-particle quantities; single-particle observables remain anisotropic for any value of the Hund's coupling. Importantly, we find that the orbital isotropy can be induced both at half filling and for the case of four electrons per lattice site, where the magnetic instability is associated with different, antiferromagnetic and ferromagnetic, modes, respectively.

Magnetization Density Distribution of Sr_{2}IrO_{4}: Deviation from a Local j_{eff}=1/2 Picture.

5d iridium oxides are of huge interest due to the potential for new quantum states driven by strong spin-orbit coupling. The strontium iridate Sr_{2}IrO_{4} is particularly in the spotlight because of the so-called j_{eff}=1/2 state consisting of a quantum superposition of the three local t_{2g} orbitals with, in its simplest version, nearly equal populations, which stabilizes an unconventional Mott insulating state. Here, we report an anisotropic and aspherical magnetization density distribution measured by polarized neutron diffraction in a magnetic field up to 5 T at 4 K, which strongly deviates from a local j_{eff}=1/2 picture even when distortion-induced deviations from the equal weights of the orbital populations are taken into account. Once reconstructed by the maximum entropy method and multipole expansion model refinement, the magnetization density shows four cross-shaped positive lobes along the crystallographic tetragonal axes with a large spatial extent, showing that the xy orbital contribution is dominant. The analogy to the superconducting copper oxide systems might then be weaker than commonly thought.

Towards a First-Principles Determination of Effective Coulomb Interactions in Correlated Electron Materials: Role of Intershell Interactions.

The determination of the effective Coulomb interactions to be used in low-energy Hamiltonians for materials with strong electronic correlations remains one of the bottlenecks for parameter-free electronic structure calculations. We propose and benchmark a scheme for determining the effective local Coulomb interactions for charge-transfer oxides and related compounds. Intershell interactions between electrons in the correlated shell and ligand orbitals are taken into account in an effective manner, leading to a reduction of the effective local interactions on the correlated shell. Our scheme resolves inconsistencies in the determination of effective interactions as obtained by standard methods for a wide range of materials, and allows for a conceptual understanding of the relation of cluster model and dynamical mean field-based electronic structure calculations.

Rare-earth vs. heavy metal pigments and their colors from first principles.

Many inorganic pigments contain heavy metals hazardous to health and environment. Much attention has been devoted to the quest for nontoxic alternatives based on rare-earth elements. However, the computation of colors from first principles is a challenge to electronic structure methods, especially for materials with localized f-orbitals. Here, starting from atomic positions only, we compute the colors of the red pigment cerium fluorosulfide as well as mercury sulfide (classic vermilion). Our methodology uses many-body theories to compute the optical absorption combined with an intermediate length-scale modelization to assess how coloration depends on film thickness, pigment concentration, and granularity. We introduce a quantitative criterion for the performance of a pigment. While for mercury sulfide, this criterion is satisfied because of large transition matrix elements between wide bands, cerium fluorosulfide presents an alternative paradigm: the bright red color is shown to stem from the combined effect of the quasi-2D and the localized nature of states. Our work shows the power of modern computational methods, with implications for the theoretical design of materials with specific optical properties.

Dynamical mean field theory-based electronic structure calculations for correlated materials.

We give an introduction to dynamical mean field approaches to correlated materials. Starting from the concept of electronic correlation, we explain why a theoretical description of correlations in spectroscopic properties needs to go beyond the single-particle picture of band theory.We discuss the main ideas of dynamical mean field theory and its use within realistic electronic structure calculations, illustrated by examples of transition metals, transition metal oxides, and rare-earth compounds. Finally, we summarise recent progress on the calculation of effective Hubbard interactions and the description of dynamical screening effects in solids.

Dynamical correlations and screened exchange on the experimental bench: spectral properties of the cobalt pnictide BaCo2As2.

Understanding the Fermi surface and low-energy excitations of iron or cobalt pnictides is crucial for assessing electronic instabilities such as magnetic or superconducting states. Here, we propose and implement a new approach to compute the low-energy properties of correlated electron materials, taking into account both screened exchange beyond the local density approximation and local dynamical correlations. The scheme allows us to resolve the puzzle of BaCo2As2, for which standard electronic structure techniques predict a ferromagnetic instability not observed in nature.

Spectral properties of correlated materials: local vertex and nonlocal two-particle correlations from combined GW and dynamical mean field theory.

We present a fully self-consistent combined GW and dynamical mean field (DMFT) study of the extended two-dimensional Hubbard model. The inclusion of the local dynamical vertex stemming from the DMFT self-energy and polarization is shown to cure the known problems of self-consistent GW. We calculate momentum-resolved spectral functions, two-particle polarizations, and electron-loss spectra, as well as the effective dynamical interaction induced by nonlocal screening. The momentum-dependence introduced by GW into the extended DMFT description leads to a narrowing of the quasiparticle width and more pronounced Hubbard bands in the metallic regime as one approaches the charge-ordering transition. It further affects the shape of collective modes, giving rise to dispersive plasmon-like long-wavelength and stripe modes.

Reduced effective spin-orbital degeneracy and spin-orbital ordering in paramagnetic transition-metal oxides: Sr2IrO4 versus Sr2RhO4.

We discuss the notions of spin-orbital polarization and ordering in paramagnetic materials, and address their consequences in transition-metal oxides. Extending the combined density functional and dynamical mean field theory scheme to the case of materials with large spin-orbit interactions, we investigate the electronic excitations of the paramagnetic phases of Sr(2)IrO(4) and Sr(2)RhO(4). We show that the interplay of spin-orbit interactions, structural distortions and Coulomb interactions suppresses spin-orbital fluctuations. As a result, the room temperature phase of Sr(2)IrO(4) is a paramagnetic spin-orbitally ordered Mott insulator. In Sr(2)RhO(4), the effective spin-orbital degeneracy is reduced, but the material remains metallic, due to both, smaller spin-orbit and smaller Coulomb interactions. The corresponding spectra are in excellent agreement with photoemission data. Finally, we make predictions for the spectra of paramagnetic Sr(2)IrO(4).

Imaging the itinerant-to-localized transmutation of electrons across the metal-to-insulator transition in V2O3.

In solids, strong repulsion between electrons can inhibit their movement and result in a "Mott" metal-to-insulator transition (MIT), a fundamental phenomenon whose understanding has remained a challenge for over 50 years. A key issue is how the wave-like itinerant electrons change into a localized-like state due to increased interactions. However, observing the MIT in terms of the energy- and momentum-resolved electronic structure of the system, the only direct way to probe both itinerant and localized states, has been elusive. Here we show, using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES), that in V2O3, the temperature-induced MIT is characterized by the progressive disappearance of its itinerant conduction band, without any change in its energy-momentum dispersion, and the simultaneous shift to larger binding energies of a quasi-localized state initially located near the Fermi level.

Multi-orbital effects in optical properties of vanadium sesquioxide.

Vanadium sesquioxide, V(2)O(3), boasts a rich phase diagram whose description necessitates accounting for many-body Coulomb correlations. The spectral properties of this compound have been successfully addressed within dynamical mean field theory to the extent that results of recent angle-resolved photoemission experiments have been correctly predicted. While photoemission spectroscopy probes the occupied part of the one-particle spectrum, optical experiments measure transitions into empty states and thus provide complementary information. In this work, we focus on the optical properties of V(2)O(3) in its paramagnetic phases by employing our recently developed 'generalized Peierls approach'. We obtain results in overall satisfactory agreement with experiments. Further, we rationalize that the experimentally observed temperature dependence stems from the different coherence scales of the charge carriers involved.

Generalized Hedin equations and σGσW approximation for quantum many-body systems with spin-dependent interactions.

The Hedin equations for the electron self-energy and the vertex were originally derived for a many-electron system with Coulomb interaction (Hedin 1965 Phys. Rev. 139 A796). Here, we present a generalized set of Hedin equations for quantum many-body systems containing spin-dependent interactions, e.g. spin-orbit and spin-spin interactions. The corresponding spin-dependent GW approximation is constructed. This work should open the way to describing the interplay of correlations and spin-dependent interactions in systems such as quantum dots or wires, as well as in interface and surface problems.

Effective band structure of correlated materials: the case of VO(2).

Vanadium dioxide VO(2) and its metal-insulator transition at T = 340 K continue to receive considerable interest. The question whether the physics of the insulating low-temperature phase is dominated by the Mott or the Peierls scenario, i.e. by correlation or band effects, is still under debate. A recent cluster dynamical mean field theory calculation (Biermann et al 2005 Phys. Rev. Lett. 94 026404) suggests a combination of both effects, characterizing the transition as of a correlation-assisted Peierls type. In this paper we present a detailed analysis of the excitation spectrum of the insulating M1 phase of VO(2), based on this calculation. We implement a scheme to analytically continue self-energies from Matsubara to real frequencies, and study the physics of the strong interactions, as well as the corresponding changes with respect to the density functional theory band structure within the local density approximation (LDA). We find that in the M1 phase lifetime effects are rather negligible, indeed allowing for an effective band structure description. A frequency-independent but orbital-dependent potential, constructed as an approximation to the full cluster dynamical mean field self-energy, turns out to satisfactorily reproduce the fully interacting one-particle spectrum, acting as a scissors operator which pushes the a(1g) bonding and e(g)(π) bands apart and, thus, opens the gap.

Self-optimized superconductivity attainable by interlayer phase separation at cuprate interfaces.

Stabilizing superconductivity at high temperatures and elucidating its mechanism have long been major challenges of materials research in condensed matter physics. Meanwhile, recent progress in nanostructuring offers unprecedented possibilities for designing novel functionalities. Above all, thin films of cuprate and iron-based high-temperature superconductors exhibit remarkably better superconducting characteristics (for example, higher critical temperatures) than in the bulk, but the underlying mechanism is still not understood. Solving microscopic models suitable for cuprates, we demonstrate that, at an interface between a Mott insulator and an overdoped nonsuperconducting metal, the superconducting amplitude is always pinned at the optimum achieved in the bulk, independently of the carrier concentration in the metal. This is in contrast to the dome-like dependence in bulk superconductors but consistent with the astonishing independence of the critical temperature from the carrier density x observed at the interfaces of La2CuO4 and La2-x Sr x CuO4. Furthermore, we identify a self-organization mechanism as responsible for the pinning at the optimum amplitude: An emergent electronic structure induced by interlayer phase separation eludes bulk phase separation and inhomogeneities that would kill superconductivity in the bulk. Thus, interfaces provide an ideal tool to enhance and stabilize superconductivity. This interfacial example opens up further ways of shaping superconductivity by suppressing competing instabilities, with direct perspectives for designing devices.

Dynamical screening effects in correlated electron materials-a progress report on combined many-body perturbation and dynamical mean field theory: 'GW + DMFT'.

We give a summary of recent progress in the field of electronic structure calculations for materials with strong electronic Coulomb correlations. The discussion focuses on developments beyond the by now well established combination of density functional and dynamical mean field theory dubbed 'LDA + DMFT'. It is organized around the description of dynamical screening effects in the solid. Indeed, screening in the solid gives rise to dynamical local Coulomb interactions U(ω) (Aryasetiawan et al 2004 Phys. Rev. B 70 195104), and this frequency dependence leads to effects that cannot be neglected in a truly first principles description. We review the recently introduced extension of LDA + DMFT to dynamical local Coulomb interactions 'LDA + U(ω) + DMFT' (Casula et al 2012 Phys. Rev. B 85 035115, Werner et al 2012 Nature Phys. 1745-2481). A reliable description of dynamical screening effects is also a central ingredient of the 'GW + DMFT' scheme (Biermann et al 2003 Phys. Rev. Lett. 90 086402), a combination of many-body perturbation theory in Hedin's GW approximation and dynamical mean field theory. Recently, the first GW + DMFT calculations including dynamical screening effects for real materials have been achieved, with applications to SrV O3 (Tomczak et al 2012 Europhys. Lett. 100 67001, Tomczak et al Phys. Rev. B submitted (available electronically as arXiv:1312.7546)) and adatom systems on surfaces (Hansmann et al 2013 Phys. Rev. Lett. 110 166401). We review these and comment on further perspectives in the field. This review is an attempt to put elements of the original works into the broad perspective of the development of truly first principles techniques for correlated electron materials.

What about U on surfaces? Extended Hubbard models for adatom systems from first principles.

Electronic correlations together with dimensional constraints lead to some of the most fascinating properties known in condensed matter physics. As possible candidates where these conditions are realized, semiconductor (111) surfaces and adatom systems on surfaces have been under investigation for quite some time. However, state-of-the-art theoretical studies on these materials that include many-body effects beyond the band picture are rare. First principles estimates of inter-electronic Coulomb interactions for the correlated states are missing entirely, and usually these interactions are treated as adjustable parameters. In this work, we report on calculations of the interaction parameters for the group IV surface-adatom systems in the α-phase series of Si(111):C, Si, Sn, Pb. For all systems investigated, the inter-electronic Coulomb interactions are indeed large compared to the kinetic energies of the states in question. Moreover, our study reveals that intersite interactions cannot be disregarded. We explicitly construct an extended Hubbard model for the series of group IV surface-adatom systems on silicon, which can be used for further many-body calculations.

Importance of interorbital charge transfers for the metal-to-insulator transition of BaVS3.

The underlying mechanism of the metal-to-insulator transition (MIT) in BaVS3 is investigated, using dynamical mean-field theory in combination with density functional theory. It is shown that correlation effects are responsible for a strong charge redistribution, which lowers the occupancy of the broader A(1g) band in favor of the narrower E(g) bands and thereby substantially modifies the Fermi surface. This resolves several discrepancies between band theory and the experimental findings, such as the observed value of the charge-density-wave ordering vector associated with the MIT, and the presence of local moments in the metallic phase.