Dynamical Mean Field Studies of Infinite Layer Nickelates: Physics Results and Methodological Implications

This article summarizes recent work on the many-body (beyond density functional theory) electronic structure of layered rare-earth nickelates, both in the context of the materials themselves and in comparison to the high-temperature superconducting (high-Tc) layered copper-oxide compounds. It aims to outline the current state of our understanding of layered nickelates and to show how the analysis of these fascinating materials can shed light on fundamental questions in modern electronic structure theory. A prime focus is determining how the interacting physics defined over a wide energy range can be estimated and “downfolded” into a low energy theory that would describe the relevant degrees of freedom on the ∼0.5 eV scale and that could be solved to determine superconducting and spin and charge density wave phase boundaries, temperature dependent resistivities, and dynamical susceptibilities.