Publication Date
10-1-2023
Document Type
Article
Publication Title
Physical Review Research
Volume
5
Issue
4
DOI
10.1103/PhysRevResearch.5.043267
Abstract
We develop a self-consistent variant of the constrained path quantum Monte Carlo approach which ensures its independence of the trial wave function, and apply the method to compute ground-state correlations in the two-dimensional SU(3) Fermi-Hubbard Hamiltonian at 13 filling, modeling fermions with three possible spin flavors moving on a square lattice with an average of one particle per site. We provide clear evidence of a quantum critical point separating a nonmagnetic uniform metallic phase from a regime where long-range "spin"order is present. This discovery of multiple successive transitions to magnetic states with regular, long-range alternation of the different flavors, whose symmetry changes as the interaction strength increases, significantly extends previous work in the Heisenberg limit to itinerant fermions. In addition to the rich quantum magnetism, this important physical system allows one to study integer filling and the associated Mott transition disentangled from nesting, in contrast to the usual SU(2) model, while preserving the square-lattice geometry. Our results also provide a significant step towards the interpretation of present and future experiments on fermionic alkaline-earth atoms, and other realizations of SU(N) physics.
Funding Number
995764
Funding Sponsor
National Science Foundation
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Chunhan Feng, Eduardo Ibarra-García-Padilla, Kaden R.A. Hazzard, Richard Scalettar, Shiwei Zhang, and Ettore Vitali. "Metal-insulator transition and quantum magnetism in the SU(3) Fermi-Hubbard model" Physical Review Research (2023). https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevResearch.5.043267
