Correlated materials beyond dynamical mean-field theory

Electrons play a central role in the electric and magnetic properties of materials, which have many applications in modern technology.

In correlated materials, the electrons cannot be considered as independent particles, leading to remarkable phenomena such as unconventional superconductivity, Mott insulating states and electronic nematicity.

The precise mechanism responsible for these correlated phases is not yet understood, obstructing the design of functional correlated materials.

In this project, together with a PhD student I will address this problem using diagrammatic extensions of dynamical-mean field theory, a state-of-the-art theoretical technique in many-electron physics, which was so far restricted to simplified models of correlated electrons.

The goal is bring the methodology to complex, multi-orbital systems and to predict theoretically when and why electronic phase transitions occur.

The long-term goal of this research line is to enable the computational design of correlated materials with tailored electronic properties, for example with high transition temperatures.The theoretical efforts in this proposal are a complement to the MAX IV and ESS facilities, especially their capability for momentum-resolved spectroscopy.

Indeed, high momentum resolution is one of the main benefits of the proposed theoretical methodology.