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We study the half-filled Hubbard model on a one-parameter family of vortex-full square lattices ranging from the isotropic case to weakly coupled Hubbard dimers. The ground-state phase diagram consists of four phases: A semimetal and a band insulator which are connected to the weak-coupling limit, and a magnetically ordered Néel phase and a valence bond solid (VBS) which are linked to the strong-coupling Mott limit. The phase diagram is obtained by quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) and continuous unitary transformations (CUTs). The CUT is performed in a two-step process: Nonperturbative graph-based CUTs are used in the Mott insulating phase to integrate out charge fluctuations. The resulting effective spin model is tackled by perturbative CUTs about the isolated dimer limit yielding the breakdown of the VBS by triplon condensation. We find three scenarios when varying the interaction for a fixed anisotropy of hopping amplitudes: (i) one direct phase transition from Néel to semimetal, (ii) two phase transitions VBS to Néel and Néel to semimetal, or (iii) a smooth crossover from VBS to the band insulator. Our results are consistent with the absence of spin-liquid phases in the whole phase diagram. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inspired by recent experiments on 3He films between one and two atoms thick, we consider a bilayer Hubbard model on a triangular lattice. Our results are obtained in the framework of a cluster dynamical mean-field calculation with a quantum Monte Carlo impurity solver. For appropriate model parameters, we observe an enhancement of the effective mass as the first layer approaches integer filling and the second remains only partially filled. At finite temperatures, this increase of the effective mass-or, equivalently, the decrease of the coherence temperature-leads to a crossover to a state where the first-layer fermions localize, drop out of the Luttinger volume, and generate essentially free local moments. This finite temperature behavior is shown to be robust against the cluster size above some critical temperature. The zero-temperature phase diagram, however, depends on the cluster topology. In particular, for clusters with an even number of unit cells, the growth of the effective mass is cut off by a first-order, orbital-selective Mott transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The one-dimensional Holstein model and its generalizations have been studied extensively to understand the effects of electron-phonon interaction. The half-filled case is of particular interest, as it describes a transition from a metallic phase with a spin gap due to attractive backscattering to a Peierls insulator with charge-density-wave order. Our quantum Monte Carlo results support the existence of a metallic phase with dominant power-law charge correlations, as described by the Luther-Emery fixed point. We demonstrate that for Holstein and also for purely fermionic models the spin gap significantly complicates finite-size numerical studies, and explains inconsistent previous results for Luttinger parameters and phase boundaries. On the other hand, no such complications arise in spinless models. The correct low-energy theory of the spinful Holstein model is argued to be that of singlet bipolarons with a repulsive, mutual interaction. This picture naturally explains the existence of a metallic phase, but also implies that gapless Luttinger liquid theory is not applicable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We determine the phase diagram of the Kane-Mele model with a long-range Coulomb interaction using an exact quantum Monte Carlo method. Long-range interactions are expected to play a role in honeycomb materials because the vanishing density of states in the semimetallic weak-coupling phase suppresses screening. According to our results, the Kane-Mele-Coulomb model supports the same phases as the Kane-Mele-Hubbard model. The nonlocal part of the interaction promotes short-range sublattice charge fluctuations, which compete with antiferromagnetic order driven by the onsite repulsion. Consequently, the critical interaction for the magnetic transition is significantly larger than for the purely local Hubbard repulsion. Our numerical data are consistent with SU(2) Gross-Neveu universality for the semimetal to antiferromagnet transition, and with 3D XY universality for the quantum spin Hall to antiferromagnet transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the two-dimensional Kane-Mele-Hubbard model at half filling by means of quantum Monte Carlo simulations. We present a refined phase boundary for the quantum spin liquid. The topological insulator at finite Hubbard interaction strength is adiabatically connected to the groundstate of the Kane-Mele model. In the presence of spin-orbit coupling, magnetic order at large Hubbard U is restricted to the transverse direction. The transition from the topological band insulator to the antiferromagnetic Mott insulator is in the universality class of the three-dimensional XY model. The numerical data suggest that the spin liquid to topological insulator and spin liquid to Mott insulator transitions are both continuous. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]