Towards a topological quantum chemistry description of correlated systems: The case of the Hubbard diamond chain

Abstract

The recently introduced topological quantum chemistry (TQC) framework has provided a description of universal topological properties of all possible band insulators in all space groups based on crystalline unitary symmetries and time reversal. While this formalism filled the gap between the mathematical classification and the practical diagnosis of topological materials, an obvious limitation is that it only applies to weakly interacting systems, which can be described within band theory. It is an open question to which extent this formalism can be generalized to correlated systems that can exhibit symmetry-protected topological phases which are not adiabatically connected to any band insulator. In this work, we address the many facets of this question by considering the specific example of an extended version of a Hubbard diamond chain. This model features a Mott insulator, a trivial insulating phase, and an obstructed atomic limit phase. Here we first discuss the nature of the Mott insulator and determine the phase diagram and topology of the interacting model with infinite density matrix renormalization group calculations, variational Monte Carlo simulations, and with many-body topological invariants. We then proceed by considering a generalization of the TQC formalism to Green's functions combined with the concept of a topological Hamiltonian to identify the topological nature of the phases. Here we use cluster perturbation theory to calculate the Green's functions. The results are benchmarked with the above-determined phase diagram, and we discuss the applicability and limitations of the approach and its possible extensions in the diagnosis of topological phases in materials, in contrast to the use of many-body topological invariants. © 2021 American Physical Society.