Detecting phases in one-dimensional many-fermion systems with the functional renormalization group

TL;DR

This paper applies the functional renormalization group to a one-dimensional spinless fermion model, successfully identifying phase transitions and emphasizing the importance of vertex feedback in the flow equations.

Contribution

It demonstrates the effectiveness of FRG with second-order accuracy in capturing phase transitions in a 1D fermion system, highlighting the role of dynamic self-energy feedback.

Findings

FRG captures phase transition from metallic to charge density wave.

Feedback of the two-particle vertex is crucial for phase detection.

Critical interactions are underestimated due to approximations.

Abstract

The functional renormalization group (FRG) has been used widely to investigate phase diagrams, in particular the one of the two-dimensional Hubbard model. So far, the study of one-dimensional models has not attracted as much attention. We use the FRG to investigate the phases of a one-dimensional spinless tight-binding chain with nearest and next-nearest neighbor interactions at half filling. The phase diagram of this model has already been established with other methods, and phase transitions from a metallic phase to ordered phases take place at intermediate to strong interactions. The model is thus well suited to analyze the potential and the limitations of the FRG in this regime of interactions. We employ flow equations that are exact up to second order in the interaction, which implies that we take into account the frequency dependence of the two-particle vertex as well as the feedback of the dynamic self-energy. For intermediate nearest neighbor interactions, our scheme captures the phase transition from a metallic phase to a charge density wave with alternating occupation. The critical interaction, at which this transition occurs, is underestimated due to our approximations. Similarly, for intermediate next-nearest neighbor interactions, we observe a transition to a charge density wave with occupation pattern ..00110011... We show that taking into account a feedback of the two-particle vertex in the flow equation is essential for the detection of those phases.