Partial suppression of magnetism in the square lattice SU(3) Hubbard model

TL;DR

This paper explores the ground-state phases of the square lattice SU(3) Hubbard model, revealing a suppressed magnetic phase and a transition from magnetic to paramagnetic states, advancing understanding of SU(N) models.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed phase diagram of the SU(3) Hubbard model on a square lattice, highlighting magnetic suppression and new phase transitions.

Findings

Identification of a Mott transition signature

Suppression of a previously predicted magnetic phase

Transition from magnetic to paramagnetic behavior in hole-doped regime

Abstract

The SU(N) Hubbard model is a natural extension of the SU(2) model. However, even the N=3 case remains poorly understood. We report a substantially new ground-state phase diagram of the square lattice SU(3) Fermi-Hubbard model. Using a backflow ansatz, we identify strong signatures of a Mott transition and a subsequent magnetic transition, and the suppression of a previously predicted magnetic phase. We study the hole-doped model, identifying a transition from magnetic to paramagnetic behavior in the strong-coupling regime. Our findings offer a qualitatively new ground state picture. More broadly, our work suggests a path to study general SU(N) Hubbard models with arbitrary filling and geometry.