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Specific heat maximum as a signature of Mott physics in the two-dimensional Hubbard model

G. Sordi, C. Walsh, P. Sémon, and A.-M. S. Tremblay
Phys. Rev. B 100, 121105(R) – Published 12 September 2019

Abstract

Recent experiments on cuprates show that as a function of doping, the normal-state specific heat sharply peaks at the doping δ*, where the pseudogap ends at low temperature. This finding is taken as the thermodynamic signature of a quantum critical point, whose nature has not yet been identified. Here we present calculations for the two-dimensional Hubbard model in the doped Mott insulator regime, which indicate that the specific heat anomaly can arise from the finite-temperature critical end point of a first-order transition between a pseudogap phase with dominant singlet correlations and a metal. As a function of doping at the temperature of the end point, the specific heat diverges. Upon increasing temperature, the peak becomes broader. The diverging correlation length is associated with uniform density fluctuations. No broken symmetries are needed. These anomalies also occur at half-filling as a function of interaction strength, and are relevant for organic superconductors and ultracold atoms.

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  • Received 2 May 2019
  • Revised 29 July 2019

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.100.121105

©2019 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Condensed Matter, Materials & Applied Physics

Authors & Affiliations

G. Sordi1,*, C. Walsh1, P. Sémon2, and A.-M. S. Tremblay3,4

  • 1Department of Physics, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX, United Kingdom
  • 2Computational Science Initiative, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York 11973-5000, USA
  • 3Département de physique and Institut quantique, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Québec, Canada J1K 2R1
  • 4Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5G 1Z8

  • *Corresponding author: giovanni.sordi@rhul.ac.uk

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Issue

Vol. 100, Iss. 12 — 15 September 2019

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