OPTICAL-PROPERTIES OF ONE-DIMENSIONAL AND 2-DIMENSIONAL HUBBARD AND T-J MODELS

The optical conductivity for the Hubbard and t-J models is calculated numerically by use of a Lanczos algorithm. One- and two-dimensional systems of up to 16 sites with periodic and open boundary conditions are examined for the t-J model, as well as Hubbard-model systems of up to 9 sites. In the one-dimensional case, the low-frequency part of the conductivity away from half filling is shown to consist almost entirely of a single function (Drude peak) even for J of the order of t. This is a direct consequence of the decoupling of charge and spin in one dimension. In two dimensions there is an additional broad absorption band above the Drude peak, consistent with the experimentally observed midinfrared band in the copper oxide superconductors. The importance of vertex corrections is demonstrated by comparing the exact conductivity with the convolution integral of the exact single-particle Greens function. © 1990 The American Physical Society.