Evolution of the superconductivity dome in the two-dimensional Hubbard model

In a recent publication, we identified a line of Lifshitz transition points separating the Fermi liquid and pseudogap regions in the hole-doped two-dimensional Hubbard model. Here, we extend the study to further determine the superconducting transition temperature in the phase diagram. By means of large-scale dynamical cluster quantum Monte Carlo simulations, we are able to identify the evolution of the d-wave superconducting dome in the hole-dope side of the phase diagram, with next-nearest-neighbor hopping (t′), chemical potential, and temperature as control parameters. To obtain the superconducting transition temperature Tc, we employ two-particle measurements of the pairing susceptibilities. As t′ goes from positive to negative values, we find the d-wave projected irreducible pairing vertex function is enhanced, and the curvature of its doping dependence changes from convex to concave, which fixes the position of the maximum superconducting temperature at the same filling (n≈0.85) and constraints the dome from precisely following the Lifshitz line. We furthermore decompose the irreducible vertex function into fully irreducible, charge and spin components via the parquet equations, and consistently find that the spin component dominates the pairing vertex function in the doping range where the dome is located. Our investigations deepen the understanding of the phase diagram of the two-dimensional Hubbard model and, more importantly, pose new questions to the field. For example, we found as t′ goes from positive to negative values, the curvature of the pairing strength as a function of doping changes from convex to concave, and the nature of the dominant fluctuations changes from charge degree of freedom to spin degree of freedom. The study of these issues will lead to further understanding of the phase diagram of the two-dimensional Hubbard model and also the physics of the hole-doped cuprate high-temperature superconductors. © 2013 American Physical Society