Some open questions in TDDFT: Clues from lattice models and Kadanoff–Baym dynamics

Ultrafast dynamics of strongly correlated fermions-nonequilibrium Green functions and selfenergy approximations

This article presents an overview on recent progress in the theory of nonequilibrium Green functions (NEGF). We discuss applications of NEGF simulations to describe the femtosecond dynamics of various finite fermionic systems following an excitation out of equilibrium. This includes the expansion dynamics of ultracold atoms in optical lattices following a confinement quench and the excitation of strongly correlated electrons in a solid by the impact of a charged particle. NEGF, presently, are the only ab initio quantum approach that is able to study the dynamics of correlations for long times in two and three dimensions. However, until recently, NEGF simulations have mostly been performed with rather simple selfenergy approximations such as the second-order Born approximation (SOA). While they correctly capture the qualitative trends of the relaxation towards equilibrium, the reliability and accuracy of these NEGF simulations has remained open, for a long time. Here we report on recent tests of NEGF simulations for finite lattice systems against exact-diagonalization and density-matrix-renormalization-group benchmark data. The results confirm the high accuracy and predictive capability of NEGF simulations-provided selfenergies are used that go beyond the SOA and adequately include strong correlation and dynamical-screening effects. With an extended arsenal of selfenergies that can be used effectively, the NEGF approach has the potential of becoming a powerful simulation tool with broad areas of new applications including strongly correlated solids and ultracold atoms. The present review aims at making such applications possible. To this end we present a selfcontained introduction to the theory of NEGF and give an overview on recent numerical applications to compute the ultrafast relaxation dynamics of correlated fermions. In the second part we give a detailed introduction to selfenergies beyond the SOA. Important examples are the third-order approximation, the [Formula: see text] approximation, the T-matrix approximation and the fluctuating-exchange approximation. We give a comprehensive summary of the explicit selfenergy expressions for a variety of systems of practical relevance, starting from the most general expressions (general basis) and the Feynman diagrams, and including also the important cases of diagonal basis sets, the Hubbard model and the differences occuring for bosons and fermions. With these details, and information on the computational effort and scaling with the basis size and propagation duration, readers will be able to choose the proper basis set and straightforwardly implement and apply advanced selfenergy approximations to a broad class of systems.

Benchmarking semiclassical and perturbative methods for real-time simulations of cavity-bound emission and interference

We benchmark a selection of semiclassical and perturbative dynamics techniques by investigating the correlated evolution of a cavity-bound atomic system to assess their applicability to study problems involving strong light-matter interactions in quantum cavities. The model system of interest features spontaneous emission, interference, and strong coupling behavior and necessitates the consideration of vacuum fluctuations and correlated light-matter dynamics. We compare a selection of approximate dynamics approaches including fewest switches surface hopping (FSSH), multitrajectory Ehrenfest dynamics, linearized semiclassical dynamics, and partially linearized semiclassical dynamics. Furthermore, investigating self-consistent perturbative methods, we apply the Bogoliubov-Born-Green-Kirkwood-Yvon hierarchy in the second Born approximation. With the exception of fewest switches surface hopping, all methods provide a reasonable level of accuracy for the correlated light-matter dynamics, with most methods lacking the capacity to fully capture interference effects.

Time-dependent density functional theory beyond Kohn–Sham Slater determinants

Different choices of initial Kohn Sham wavefunction shape the time-dependent exchange–correlation potential.

The Hubbard dimer: a density functional case study of a many-body problem

This review explains the relationship between density functional theory and strongly correlated models using the simplest possible example, the two-site Hubbard model. The relationship to traditional quantum chemistry is included. Even in this elementary example, where the exact ground-state energy and site occupations can be found analytically, there is much to be explained in terms of the underlying logic and aims of density functional theory. Although the usual solution is analytic, the density functional is given only implicitly. We overcome this difficulty using the Levy-Lieb construction to create a parametrization of the exact function with negligible errors. The symmetric case is most commonly studied, but we find a rich variation in behavior by including asymmetry, as strong correlation physics vies with charge-transfer effects. We explore the behavior of the gap and the many-body Green's function, demonstrating the 'failure' of the Kohn-Sham (KS) method to reproduce the fundamental gap. We perform benchmark calculations of the occupation and components of the KS potentials, the correlation kinetic energies, and the adiabatic connection. We test several approximate functionals (restricted and unrestricted Hartree-Fock and Bethe ansatz local density approximation) to show their successes and limitations. We also discuss and illustrate the concept of the derivative discontinuity. Useful appendices include analytic expressions for density functional energy components, several limits of the exact functional (weak- and strong-coupling, symmetric and asymmetric), various adiabatic connection results, proofs of exact conditions for this model, and the origin of the Hubbard model from a minimal basis model for stretched H2.

Three-dimensional dynamics of a fermionic Mott wedding-cake in clean and disordered optical lattices

Non-equilibrium quantum phenomena are ubiquitous in nature. Yet, theoretical predictions on the real-time dynamics of many-body quantum systems remain formidably challenging, especially for high dimensions, strong interactions or disordered samples. Here we consider a notable paradigm of strongly correlated Fermi systems, the Mott phase of the Hubbard model, in a setup resembling ultracold-gases experiments. We study the three-dimensional expansion of a cloud into an optical lattice after removing the confining potential. We use time-dependent density-functional theory combined with dynamical mean-field theory, considering interactions below and above the Mott threshold, as well as disorder effects. At strong coupling, we observe multiple timescales in the melting of the Mott wedding-cake structure, as the Mott plateau persist orders of magnitude longer than the band insulating core. We also show that disorder destabilises the Mott plateau and that, compared to a clean setup, localisation can decrease, creating an interesting dynamic crossover during the expansion.