Competition between antiferromagnetic and charge-density-wave order in the half-filled Hubbard-Holstein model

Phys Rev Lett. 2012 Dec 14;109(24):246404. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.109.246404. Epub 2012 Dec 10.

Abstract

We present a determinant quantum Monte Carlo study of the competition between instantaneous on-site Coulomb repulsion and retarded phonon-mediated attraction between electrons, as described by the two-dimensional Hubbard-Holstein model. At half filling, we find a strong competition between antiferromagnetism (AFM) and charge-density-wave (CDW) order. We demonstrate that a simple picture of AFM-CDW competition that incorporates the phonon-mediated attraction into an effective-U Hubbard model requires significant refinement. Specifically, retardation effects slow the onset of charge order so that CDW order remains absent even when the effective U is negative. This delay opens a window where neither AFM nor CDW order is well established and where there are signatures of a possible metallic phase.