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Many of the fascinating and unconventional properties of several transition-metal compounds with partially filled d-shells are due to strong electronic correlations. While local correlations are in principle treated exactly within the frame of the dynamical mean-field theory, there are two major and interlinked routes for important further methodical advances: On the one hand, there is a strong need for methods being able to describe material-specific aspects, i.e., methods combining the DMFT with modern band-structure theory, and, on the other hand, nonlocal correlations beyond the mean-field paradigm must be accounted for. Referring to several concrete example systems, we argue why these two routes are worth pursuing and how they can be combined, we describe several related methodical developments and present respective results, and we discuss possible ways to overcome remaining obstacles., Comment: tutorial review submitted to EPJ-ST (scientific report of research unit FOR 1346); 7 figures, 22 pages

A theoretical frame for two-photon photoemission is derived from the general theory of pump-probe photoemission, assuming that not only the probe but also the pump pulse is sufficiently weak. This allows us to use a perturbative approach to compute the lesser Green function within the Keldysh formalism. Two-photon photoemission spectroscopy is a widely used analytical tool to study non-equilibrium phenomena in solid materials. Our theoretical approach aims at a material-specific, realistic and quantitative description of the time-dependent spectrum based on a picture of effectively independent electrons as described by the local-density approximation in band-structure theory. To this end we follow Pendry's one-step theory of the photoemission process as close as possible and heavily make use of concepts of multiple-scattering theory, such as the representation of the final state by a time-reversed low-energy electron diffraction state. The formalism is fully relativistic and allows for a quantitative calculation of the time-dependent photocurrent for moderately correlated systems like simple metals or more complex compounds like topological insulators. An application to the Ag(100) surface is discussed in detail., Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures

A theoretical frame for pump-probe photoemission is presented. The approach is based on a general formulation using the Keldysh formalism for the lesser Green's function to describe the real-time evolution of the electronic degrees of freedom in the initial state after a strong pump pulse that drives the system out of equilibrium. The final state is represented by a time-reversed low-energy electron diffraction state. Our one-step description is related to Pendry's original formulation of the photoemission process as close as possible. The formalism allows for a quantitative calculation of time-dependent photocurrent for simple metals where a picture of effectively independent electrons is assumed as reliable. The theory is worked out for valence- and core-electron excitations. It comprises the study of different relativistic effects as a function of the pump-probe delay.

Using exact diagonalization, Monte-Carlo, and mean-field techniques, characteristic temperature scales for ferromagnetic order are discussed for the Ising and the classical anisotropic Heisenberg model on finite lattices in one and two dimensions. The interplay between nearest-neighbor exchange, anisotropy and the presence of surfaces leads, as a function of temperature, to a complex behavior of the distance-dependent spin-spin correlation function, which is very different from what is commonly expected. A finite experimental observation time is considered in addition, which is simulated within the Monte-Carlo approach by an incomplete statistical average. We find strong surface effects for small nanoparticles, which cannot be explained within a simple Landau or mean-field concept and which give rise to characteristic trends of the spin-correlation function in different temperature regimes. Unambiguous definitions of crossover temperatures for finite systems and an effective method to estimate the critical temperature of corresponding infinite systems are given., Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, EPJB (in press)

Cooperation and competition between the antiferromagnetic, d-wave superconducting and Mott-insulating states are explored for the two-dimensional Hubbard model including nearest and next-nearest-neighbor hoppings at zero temperature. Using the variational cluster approach with clusters of different shapes and sizes up to 10 sites, it is found that the doping-driven transition from a phase with microscopic coexistence of antiferromagnetism and superconductivity to a purely superconducting phase is discontinuous for strong interaction and accompanied by phase separation. At half-filling the system is in an antiferromagnetic Mott-insulating state with vanishing charge compressibility. Upon decreasing the interaction strength U below a certain critical value of roughly U=4 (in units of the nearest-neighbor hopping), however, the filling-dependent magnetic transition changes its character and becomes continuous. Phase separation or, more carefully, the tendency towards the formation of inhomogeneous states disappears. This critical value is in contrast to previous studies, where a much larger value was obtained. Moreover, we find that the system at half-filling undergoes the Mott transition from an insulator to a state with a finite charge compressibility at essentially the same value. The weakly correlated state at half-filling exhibits superconductivity microscopically admixed to the antiferromagnetic order. This scenario suggests a close relation between phase separation and the Mott-insulator physics., Comment: 7 pages, 8 figures, revised version to be published in Phys. Rev. B

Using the local spin-density approximation (LSDA) and the (non self-consistent) GW approach, the (quasi-particle) band structure is calculated for MnTe in zinc-blende geometry. Different parameters characterizing the electronic structure are computed for an antiferromagnetic and the ferromagnetic phase and compared with the experiment. The strong Hubbard-type repulsion on the Mn-3d orbitals and the p-d hybridization are seen to be responsible for substantial defects found in the LSDA picture. It is discussed to which extent these can be improved upon by means of the GW approach., Comment: 9 pages, accepted for publication in pssc (special issue on II-VI semiconductors)

The paramagnetic phase diagram of the Hubbard model with nearest-neighbor (NN) and next-nearest-neighbor (NNN) hopping on the Bethe lattice is computed at half-filling and in the weakly doped regime using the self-energy functional approach for dynamical mean-field theory. NNN hopping breaks the particle-hole symmetry and leads to a strong asymmetry of the electron-doped and hole-doped regimes. Phase separation occurs at and near half-filling, and the critical temperature of the Mott transition is strongly suppressed., Comment: 8 pages, 8 figures

Using the variational cluster approach (VCA), we study the transition from the antiferromagnetic to the superconducting phase of the two-dimensional Hubbard model at zero temperature. Our calculations are based on a new method to evaluate the VCA grand potential which employs a modified Lanczos algorithm and avoids integrations over the real or imaginary frequency axis. Thereby, very accurate results are possible for cluster sizes not accessible to full diagonalization. This is important for an improved treatment of short-range correlations, including correlations between Cooper pairs in particular. We investigate the cluster-size dependence of the phase-separation tendency that has been proposed recently on the basis of calculations for smaller clusters. It is shown that the energy barrier driving the phase separation decreases with increasing cluster size. This supports the conjecture that the ground state exhibits microscopic inhomogeneities rather than macroscopic phase separation. The evolution of the single-particle spectum as a function of doping is studied in addtion and the relevance of our results for experimental findings is pointed out., Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures, published version

The competition between d-wave superconductivity (SC) and antiferromagnetism (AF) in the high-Tc cuprates is investigated by studying the hole- and electron-doped two-dimensional Hubbard model with a recently proposed variational quantum-cluster theory. The approach is shown to provide a thermodynamically consistent determination of the particle number, provided that an overall shift of the on-site energies is treated as a variational parameter. The consequences for the single-particle excitation spectra and for the phase diagram are explored. By comparing the single-particle spectra with quantum Monte-Carlo (QMC) and experimental data, we verify that the low-energy excitations in a strongly-correlated electronic system are described appropriately. The cluster calculations also reproduce the overall ground-state phase diagram of the high-temperature superconductors. In particular, they include salient features such as the enhanced robustness of the antiferromagnetic state as a function of electron doping and the tendency towards phase separation into a mixed antiferromagnetic-superconducting phase at low-doping and a pure superconducting phase at high (both hole and electron) doping., Comment: 13 pages, 10 figures, revised version accepted by PRB

We present a numerical study of the doping dependence of the spectral function of the n-type cuprates. Using a variational cluster-perturbation theory approach based upon the self-energy-functional theory, the spectral function of the electron-doped two-dimensional Hubbard model is calculated. The model includes the next-nearest neighbor electronic hopping amplitude $t'$ and a fixed on-site interaction $U=8t$ at half filling and doping levels ranging from $x=0.077$ to $x=0.20$. Our results support the fact that a comprehensive description of the single-particle spectrum of electron-doped cuprates requires a proper treatment of strong electronic correlations. In contrast to previous weak-coupling approaches, we obtain a consistent description of the ARPES experiments without the need to introduce a doping-dependent on-site interaction $U$., Comment: 7 pages 4 eps figures

We present a generalization of the recently proposed variational cluster perturbation theory to extended Hubbard models at half filling with repulsive nearest neighbor interaction. The method takes into account short-range correlations correctly by the exact diagonalisation of clusters of finite size, whereas long-range order beyond the size of the clusters is treated on a mean-field level. For one dimension, we show that quantum Monte Carlo and density-matrix renormalization-group results can be reproduced with very good accuracy. Moreover we apply the method to the two-dimensional extended Hubbard model on a square lattice. In contrast to the one-dimensional case, a first order phase transition between spin density wave phase and charge density wave phase is found as function of the nearest-neighbor interaction at onsite interactions U>=3t. The single-particle spectral function is calculated for both the one-dimensional and the two-dimensional system., Comment: 15 pages, 12 figures

Based on the self-energy-functional approach proposed recently [M. Potthoff, Eur. Phys. J. B 32, 429 (2003)], we present an extension of the cluster-perturbation theory to systems with spontaneously broken symmetry. Our method applies to models with local interactions and accounts for both short-range correlations and long-range order. Short-range correlations are accurately taken into account via exact diagonalization of finite clusters. Long-range order is described by variational optimization of a ficticious symmetry-breaking field. In comparison with related cluster methods, our approach is more flexible and, for a given cluster size, less demanding numerically, especially at zero temperature. An application of the method to the antiferromagnetic phase of the Hubbard model at half-filling shows good agreement with results from quantum Monte-Carlo calculations. We demonstrate that the variational extension of the cluster-perturbation theory is crucial to reproduce salient features of the single-particle spectrum., Comment: 13 pages, accepted by PRB, v2 with minor changes

The self-energy-functional approach proposed recently is applied to the single-band Hubbard model at half-filling to study the Mott-Hubbard metal-insulator transition within the most simple but non-trivial approximation. This leads to a mean-field approach which is interesting conceptually: Trial self-energies from a two-site single-impurity Anderson model are used to evaluate an exact and general variational principle. While this restriction of the domain of the functional represents a strong approximation, the approach is still thermodynamically consistent by construction and represents a conceptual improvement of the ``linearized DMFT'' which has been suggested previously as a handy approach to study the critical regime close to the transition. It turns out that the two-site approximation is able to reproduce the complete (zero and finite-temperature) phase diagram for the Mott transition. For the critical point at T=0, the entire calculation can be done analytically. This calculation elucidates different general aspects of the self-energy-functional theory. Furthermore, it is shown how to deal with a number of technical difficulties which appear when the self-energy functional is evaluated in practice., Comment: 14 pages, final version including finite-temperature results and phase diagram, accepted by EPJB

A self-energy-functional approach is applied to construct cluster approximations for correlated lattice models. It turns out that the cluster-perturbation theory (Senechal et al, PRL 84, 522 (2000)) and the cellular dynamical mean-field theory (Kotliar et al, PRL 87, 186401 (2001)) are limiting cases of a more general cluster method. Results for the one-dimensional Hubbard model are discussed with regard to boundary conditions, bath degrees of freedom and cluster size., Comment: 4 pages, final version with minor changes

Recent photoemission experiments have shown strong surface modifications in the spectra from vanadium oxides as (V,Cr)_2O_3 or (Sr,Ca)VO_3. The effective mass is enhanced at the surface and the coherent part of the surface spectrum is narrowed as compared to the bulk. The quasiparticle weight is more sensitive at the surface than in the bulk against bandwidth variations. We investigate these effects theoretically considering the single-band Hubbard model for a film geometry. A simplified dynamical mean-field scheme is used to calculate the main features of the interacting layer-dependent spectral function. It turns out that the experimentally confirmed effects are inherent properties of a system of strongly correlated electrons. The reduction of the weight and the variance of the coherent part of the surface spectrum can be traced back to the reduced surface coordination number. Surface correlation effects can be strongly amplified by changes of the hopping integrals at the surface., Comment: to appear in PRB; 8 pages, 6 figures

Mott metal-insulator transitions in an M-fold orbitally degenerate Hubbard model are studied by means of a generalization of the linearized dynamical mean-field theory. The method allows for an efficient and reliable determination of the critical interaction U_c for any integer filling n and different M at zero temperature. For half-filling a linear dependence of U_c on M is found. Inclusion of the (full) Hund's rule exchange J results in a strong reduction of U_c. The transition turns out to change qualitatively from continuous for J=0 to discontinuous for any finite J.

Various types of metal-insulator transitions are discussed to find conditions for which an ideal surface of a bulk insulator is metallic. It is argued that for the correlation-driven Mott metal-insulator transition the surface phase diagram should be expected to have the same topology as the phase diagram for magnetic order at surfaces: The corresponding linearized mean-field descriptions, a simplified dynamical mean-field theory of the Hubbard model and the Weiss mean-field theory for the Ising model, are found to be formally equivalent. A new kind of surface state appears in the low-energy part of the one-particle excitation spectrum as a precursor effect of the Mott transition., Comment: 11 pages, 4 eps figures included, Adv. Solid State Phys. (in press)

The temperature-dependence of the magnetization near the surface of a band-ferromagnet is measured with monolayer resolution. The simultaneous application of novel highly surface-sensitive techniques enables one to deduce the layer-dependent magnetization curves at a Fe(100) surface. Analysis of data is based on a simple mean-field approach. Implications for modern theories of itinerant-electron ferromagnetism are discussed., Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, Phys. Rev. B, rapid (in press)

It is shown that a minimum realization of the dynamical mean-field theory (DMFT) can be achieved by mapping a correlated lattice model onto an impurity model in which the impurity is coupled to an uncorrelated bath that consists of a single site only. The two-site impurity model can be solved exactly. The mapping is approximate. The self-consistency conditions are constructed in a way that the resulting ``two-site DMFT'' reduces to the previously discussed linearized DMFT for the Mott transition. It is demonstrated that a reasonable description of the mean-field physics is possible with a minimum computational effort. This qualifies the simple two-site DMFT for a systematic study of more complex lattice models which cannot be treated by the full DMFT in a feasible way. To show the strengths and limitations of the new approach, the single-band Hubbard model is investigated in detail. The predictions of the two-site DMFT are compared with results of the full DMFT. Internal consistency checks are performed which concern the Luttinger sum rule, other Fermi-liquid relations and thermodynamic consistency., Comment: LaTeX, 14 pages, 8 eps figures included, Phys. Rev. B (in press)

The basic theory of photoemission, inverse photoemission, Auger-electron and appearance-potential spectroscopy is developed within a unified framework starting from Fermi's golden rule. The spin-resolved and temperature-dependent appearance-potential spectroscopy of band-ferromagnetic transition metals is studied in detail. It is shown that the consideration of electron correlations and orbitally resolved transition-matrix elements is essential for a quantitative agreement with experiments for Ni., Comment: 15 pages, eps-figures included, in: Band-Ferromagnetism, Eds. K. Baberschke, M. Donath, W. Nolting (Springer, Berlin, in press)

We investigate the possibility and stability of bandferromagnetism in the single-band Hubbard model. This model poses a highly non-trivial many-body problem the general solution of which has not been found up to now. Approximations are still unavoidable. Starting from a simple two-pole ansatz for the spectral density our approach is systematically improved by focusing on the influence of quasiparticle damping and the correct weak-and strong coupling behaviour. The compatibility of the different aproximative steps with decisive moment sum rules is analysed and the importance of a spin-dependent band shift mediated by higher correlation functions is worked out. Results are presented in terms of temperature- and band occupation-dependent quasiparticle densities of states and band structures as well as spontaneous magnetisations, susceptibilities and Curie temperatures for varying electron densities and coupling strengths. Comparison is made to numerically essentially exact Quantum Monte Carlo calculations recently done by other authors using dynamical mean field theory for infinite-dimensional lattices. The main conclusion will be that the Hubbard model provides a qualitatively correct description of bandferromagnetism if quasiparticle damping and selfconsistent spin-dependent bandshifts are properly taken into account., Comment: 18 pages, eps-figures included, in: Band-Ferromagnetism, Eds. K. Baberschke, M. Donath, W. Nolting (Springer, Berlin, in press)

We have studied the critical behaviour of a doped Mott insulator near the metal-insulator transition for the infinite-dimensional Hubbard model using a linearized form of dynamical mean-field theory. The discontinuity in the chemical potential in the change from hole to electron doping, for $U$ larger than a critical value $U_c$, has been calculated analytically and is found to be in good agreement with the results of numerical methods. We have also derived analytic expressions for the compressibility, the quasiparticle weight, the double occupancy and the local spin susceptibility near half-filling as functions of the on-site Coulomb interaction and the doping., Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures

Spin-resolved and temperature-dependent appearance-potential spectra of ferromagnetic Nickel are measured and analyzed theoretically. The Lander self-convolution model which relates the line shape to the unoccupied part of the local density of states turns out to be insufficient. Electron correlations and orbitally resolved transition-matrix elements are shown to be essential for a quantitative agreement between experiment and theory., Comment: LaTeX, 6 pages, 2 eps figures included, Phys. Rev. B (in press)

We calculate the spin- and temperature-dependent local density of states for ferromagnetic Ni in the presence of a core hole at a distinguished site in the lattice. Correlations among the valence electrons and between valence and core electrons are described within a multi-band Hubbard model which is treated by means of second-order perturbation theory around the Hartree-Fock solution. The core-hole potential causes strong screening effects in the Ni valence band. The local magnetic moment is found to be decreased by a factor 5-6. The consequences for the spin polarisation of CVV Auger electrons are discussed., Comment: LaTeX, 4 pages, 1 eps figure included, Acta Physica Polonica A (in press), Physics of Magnetism '99 (Poznan, Poland)

CVV Auger electron spectra are calculated for a multi-band Hubbard model including correlations among the valence electrons as well as correlations between core and valence electrons. The interest is focused on the ferromagnetic 3d-transition metals. The Auger line shape is calculated from a three-particle Green function. A realistic one-particle input is taken from tight-binding band-structure calculations. Within a diagrammatic approach we can distinguish between the \textit{direct} correlations among those electrons participating in the Auger process and the \textit{indirect} correlations in the rest system. The indirect correlations are treated within second-order perturbation theory for the self-energy. The direct correlations are treated using the valence-valence ladder approximation and the first-order perturbation theory with respect to valence-valence and core-valence interactions. The theory is evaluated numerically for ferromagnetic Ni. We discuss the spin-resolved quasi-particle band structure and the Auger spectra and investigate the influence of the core hole., Comment: LaTeX, 12 pages, 8 eps figures included, Phys. Rev. B (in press)

An improved formulation of the one-step model of photoemission from crystal surfaces is proposed which overcomes different limitations of the original theory. Considering the results of an electronic-structure calculation, the electronic (one-particle) potential and the (many-body) self-energy, as given quantities, we derive explicit expressions for the dipole transition-matrix elements. The theory is formulated within a spin-polarized, relativistic framework for general nonspherical and space-filling one-particle potentials and general nonlocal, complex and energy-dependent self-energies. It applies to semi-infinite lattices with perfect lateral translational invariance and arbitrary number of atoms per unit cell., Comment: LaTeX, 18 pages, no figure

The dynamical mean-field theory (DMFT) is employed to study the Mott transition in the semi-infinite Hubbard model at half-filling and zero temperature. We consider the low-index surfaces of the three-dimensional simple-cubic lattice and systematically vary the model parameters at the very surface. Within the DMFT the problem is self-consistently mapped onto a set of coupled effective impurity models corresponding to the inequivalent layers parallel to the surface. Assuming that the influence of the Hubbard bands on the low-energy quasi-particle resonance can be neglected at the critical point, a simplified ``linearized DMFT'' becomes possible which is formally equivalent to the Weiss molecular-field theory for the semi-infinite Ising model. This implies that qualitatively the rich phenomenology of the Landau description of second-order phase transitions at surfaces has a direct analogue for the surface Mott transition. Motivated by this formal analogy, we work out the predictions of the linearized DMFT in detail. It is found that under certain circumstances the surface of a Mott insulator can be metallic while a Mott-insulating surface of a normal metal is not possible. The corresponding phase diagrams, the (mean-field) critical exponents and the critical profiles of the quasi-particle weight are derived. The results are confirmed by a fully numerical evaluation of the DMFT equations using the exact-diagonalization (ED) method., Comment: LaTeX, 35 pages, 19 eps figures included, submitted to Phys. Rev. B

We investigate the single-impurity Anderson model by means of the recently introduced modified perturbation theory. This approximation scheme yields reasonable results away from the symmetric case. The agreement with exactly known results for the symmetric case is checked, and results for the non-symmetric case are presented. With decreasing conduction band occupation, the breakdown of the screening of the local moment is observed. In the crossover regime between Kondo limit and mixed-valence regime, an enhanced zero-temperature susceptibility is found., Comment: 7 pages, 7 figures, to appear in Physica B

The Mott-Hubbard metal-insulator transition is studied within a simplified version of the Dynamical Mean-Field Theory (DMFT) in which the coupling between the impurity level and the conduction band is approximated by a single pole at the Fermi energy. In this approach, the DMFT equations are linearized, and the value for the critical Coulomb repulsion U_{\rm c} can be calculated analytically. For the symmetric single-band Hubbard model at zero temperature, the critical value is found to be given by 6 times the square root of the second moment of the free (U=0) density of states. This result is in good agreement with the numerical value obtained from the Projective Selfconsistent Method and recent Numerical Renormalization Group calculations for the Bethe and the hypercubic lattice in infinite dimensions. The generalization to more complicated lattices is discussed. The ``linearized DMFT'' yields plausible results for the complete geometry dependence of the critical interaction., Comment: 8 pages

The correlation-driven transition from a paramagnetic metal to a paramagnetic Mott-Hubbard insulator is studied within the half-filled Hubbard model for a thin-film geometry. We consider simple-cubic films with different low-index surfaces and film thickness d ranging from d=1 (two-dimensional) up to d=8. Using the dynamical mean-field theory, the lattice (film) problem is self-consistently mapped onto a set of d single-impurity Anderson models which are indirectly coupled via the respective baths of conduction electrons. The impurity models are solved at zero temperature using the exact-diagonalization algorithm. We investigate the layer and thickness dependence of the electronic structure in the low-energy regime. Effects due to the finite film thickness are found to be the more pronounced the lower is the film-surface coordination number. For the comparatively open sc(111) geometry we find a strong layer dependence of the quasi-particle weight while it is much less pronounced for the sc(110) and the sc(100) film geometries. For a given geometry and thickness d there is a unique critical interaction strength Uc2(d) at which all effective masses diverge and there is a unique strength Uc1(d) where the insulating solution disappears. Uc2(d) and Uc1(d) gradually increase with increasing thickness eventually approaching their bulk values. A simple analytical argument explains the complete geometry and thickness dependence of Uc2. Uc1 is found to scale linearly with Uc2., Comment: LaTeX, 17 pages, 15 eps figures included, Eur. Phys. J. B (in press)

Using the dynamical mean-field theory, we calculate the effective electron mass in the Hubbard model on a semi-infinite lattice. At the surface the effective mass is strongly enhanced. Near half-filling this gives rise to a correlation-driven one-electron surface mode., Comment: LaTeX, 2 pages, 1 eps figure included, Physica B (in press), SCES 98

The correlation-driven metal-insulator (Mott) transition at a solid surface is studied within the Hubbard model for a semi-infinite lattice by means of the dynamical mean-field theory. The transition takes place at a unique critical strength of the interaction. Depending on the surface geometry, the interaction strength and the wave vector, we find one-electron excitations in the coherent part of the surface-projected metallic spectrum which are confined to two dimensions., Comment: LaTeX, 9 pages, 5 eps figures included, Phys. Rev. B (in press)

The sum rule for the moments of the spectral density is discussed for the single-band Hubbard model. It is shown that respecting the sum rule up to the order m=3 is conceptually important for a qualitatively correct description of the quasi-particle band structure in the strong-correlation regime. Different analytical approximations for the self-energy are analyzed with respect to their compatibility with the moment sum rule. To estimate the practical usefulness of the sum rule, correlation functions and dynamical quantities are determined. The results obtained within the various approximation schemes of different complexity are compared with each other and also with essentially exact results available for infinite-dimensional lattices. It turns out that the m=3 moment is rather unimportant for the paramagnetic phase on the hyper-cubic lattice. Contrary, it decisively influences the magnetic phase boundary as well as the critical temperature for the ferromagnetic phase on an fcc-type lattice., Comment: LaTeX, 22 pages, 9 eps figures included, to be published in phys. stat. sol. (b)

An analytical expression for the self-energy of the infinite-dimensional Hubbard model is proposed that interpolates between different exactly solvable limits. We profit by the combination of two recent approaches that are based on the alloy-analogy (Hubbard-III) solution: The modified alloy-analogy (MAA) which focuses on the strong-coupling regime, and the Edwards-Hertz approach (EHA) which correctly recovers the weak-coupling regime. Investigating the high-energy expansion of the EHA self-energy, it turns out that the EHA reproduces the first three exactly known moments of the spectral density only. This may be insufficient for the investigation of spontaneous magnetism. The analysis of the high-energy behavior of the CPA self-consistency equation allows for a new interpretation of the MAA: The MAA is the only (two-component) alloy-analogy that correctly takes into account the first four moments of the spectral density. For small U, however, the MAA does not reproduce Fermi-liquid properties. The defects of the MAA as well as of the EHA are avoided in the new approach. We discuss the prospects of the theory and present numerical results in comparison with essentially exact quantum Monte Carlo data. The correct high-energy behavior of the self-energy is proved to be a decisive ingredient for a reliable description of spontaneous magnetism., Comment: LaTeX, 18 pages, 12 eps figures included

The temperature-driven reorientation transition which, up to now, has been studied by use of Heisenberg-type models only, is investigated within an itinerant-electron model. We consider the Hubbard model for a thin fcc(100) film together with the dipole interaction and a layer-dependent anisotropy field. The isotropic part of the model is treated by use of a generalization of the spectral-density approach to the film geometry. The magnetic properties of the film are investigated as a function of temperature and film thickness and are analyzed in detail with help of the spin- and layer-dependent quasiparticle density of states. By calculating the temperature dependence of the second-order anisotropy constants we find that both types of reorientation transitions, from out-of-plane to in-plane (``Fe-type'') and from in-plane to out-of-plane (``Ni-type'') magnetization are possible within our model. In the latter case the inclusion of a positive volume anisotropy is vital. The reorientation transition is mediated by a strong reduction of the surface magnetization with respect to the inner layers as a function of temperature and is found to depend significantly on the total band occupation., Comment: 10 pages, 8 figures included (eps), Phys Rev B in press

The infinite-dimensional Hubbard model is studied by means of a modified perturbation theory. The approach reduces to the iterative perturbation theory for weak coupling. It is exact in the atomic limit and correctly reproduces the dispersions and the weights of the Hubbard bands in the strong-coupling regime for arbitrary fillings. Results are presented for the hyper-cubic and an fcc-type lattice. For the latter we find ferromagnetic solutions. The filling-dependent Curie temperature is compared with the results of a recent Quantum Monte Carlo study., Comment: RevTeX, 5 pages, 6 eps figures included, Phys. Rev. B (in press), Ref. 16 corrected

The one-step model of valence-band photoemission and inverse photoemission from single-crystal surfaces is reformulated for generalized (non-local, complex and energy-dependent) potentials. Thereby, it becomes possible to account for self-energy corrections taken from many-body electronic-structure calculations. The original formulation due to Pendry and co-workers employs the KKR multiple-scattering theory for the calculation of the initial state. This prevents a straightforward generalization of the one-step model to non-local potentials. We therefore consider the Dyson equation which is set up within a muffin-tin-orbitals representation as an alternative to obtain the initial-state Green function. This approach requires a revision of the transition-matrix elements which is carried out in detail. The final state is considered as a time-reversed LEED state as usual. The proposed generalization of the one-step model allows to distinguish between the bare photocurrent reflecting the (quasi-particle) band structure and the secondary effects due to the (dipole) selection rules and due to the wave-vector and energy dependence of the transition-matrix elements., Comment: Revtex, 20 pages, no figures, phys. stat. sol. (b) 203 (in press)

The Hubbard model on a semi-infinite three-dimensional lattice is considered to investigate electron-correlation effects at single-crystal surfaces. The standard second-order perturbation theory in the interaction U is used to calculate the electronic self-energy and the quasi-particle density of states (QDOS) in the bulk as well as in the vicinity of the surface. Within a real-space representation we fully account for the non-locality of the self-energy and examine the quality of the local approximation. Numerical results are presented and discussed for the three different low-index surfaces of the simple-cubic lattice. Compared with the bulk significant differences can be found for the top-layer local self-energy, the imaginary part of which is energetically narrowed and has a reduced total weight. The non-local parts of the self-energy Sigma(ij)(E) decrease with increasing distance between the sites i and j. At the surface and for the three-dimensional bulk their decrease is faster than for a two-dimensional lattice. For all surfaces considered the effects of the non-local parts of the self-energy on the QDOS are found to be qualitatively the same as for the bulk: The weight of the quasi-particle resonance at the Fermi energy is lowered while the high-energy charge-excitation peaks become more pronounced. The main structures in the layer-dependent spectra are already recovered within the local approximation; taking into account the nearest-neighbor non-local parts turns out to be an excellent approximation. Due to the reduced coordination number for sites at the very surface, the top-layer QDOS is narrowed. Contrary to the the free (U=0) system, quasi-particle damping results in a comparatively weak layer dependence of the QDOS generally., Comment: LaTeX, 14 pages, 12 ps figures included, Z. Phys. B (in press)

We develop an analytical expression for the self-energy of the infinite-dimensional Hubbard model that is correct in a number of different limits. The approach represents a generalization of the iterative perturbation theory to arbitrary fillings. In the weak-coupling regime perturbation theory to second order in the interaction U is recovered. The theory is exact in the atomic limit. The high-energy behavior of the self-energy up to order (1/E)**2 and thereby the first four moments of the spectral density are reproduced correctly. Referring to a standard strong-coupling moment method, we analyze the limit of strong U. Different modifications of the approach are discussed and tested by comparing with the results of an exact diagonalization study., Comment: LaTeX, 14 pages, 5 ps figures included, title changed, references updated, minor changes