Density-matrix renormalization-group studies of the alternating Hubbard model

Discrepancies between the single-particle band structure and the exact many-particle behavior are particularly striking in one-dimensional systems. The one-dimensional alternating Hubbard model is especially interesting as a nontrivial model for conjugated polymer chains, such as polyacetelyne. We study this model for chains of 60 sites using the density-matrix renormalization-group method. We obtain the first electronic and magnetic excited-state energies at half filling as a function of an alternating hopping parameter and on-site electron-electron interaction. We also study the effect of the interaction on the dimerization and discuss its relation to the charge gap and spin triplet gap. In addition, we calculate the local spin and charge densities of some excited states, which manifest a clear crossover from bandlike to strongly correlated behavior.