Trion ordering in the attractive three-color Hubbard model on a $\pi$-flux square lattice

TL;DR

This paper uses quantum Monte Carlo simulations to study the attractive three-color Hubbard model on a $\pi$-flux square lattice, revealing coexisting charge density wave and Nél orderings stabilized by color-dependent interactions.

Contribution

It demonstrates the emergence and stability of coexisting charge and Nél orderings in the attractive three-color Hubbard model on a $\pi$-flux lattice, using DQMC and Ginzburg-Landau analysis.

Findings

Coexisting CDW and Nél orderings are induced by color-dependent attraction.

Enhanced charge fluctuations lead to stronger Nél ordering on the $\pi$-flux lattice.

Coexisting orders vanish simultaneously at a melting temperature.

Abstract

Ultracold multicomponent fermions (atoms/molecules) loaded in optical lattices provide an ideal platform for simulating SU($N$) Hubbard models that host unconventional many-body quantum states beyond SU(2). A prime example is the attractive three-color Hubbard model, in which trion states emerge at strong coupling. Nevertheless, much of its trion ordering on two-dimensional lattices remains uncertain. Here, we employ the determinant quantum Monte Carlo (DQMC) method to simulate the attractive three-color Hubbard model on a $\pi$-flux square lattice at half filling. We show that color-dependent attractive interaction can induce coexisting charge density wave (CDW) and N\'eel ordered states in the three-color $\pi$-flux Hubbard model. In particular, enhanced charge fluctuations (cf. honeycomb lattice) cause much stronger N\'eel ordering on the $\pi$-flux square lattice. The coexisting charge and N\'eel orders survive up to a melting temperature, at which they vanish simultaneously. The Ginzburg-Landau (GL) analysis on the coexistence of CDW and N\'eel orders demonstrates how color-dependent Hubbard interactions stabilize coexisting orders from the perspective of GL free energy principle.