Comparative study of charge order in undoped infinite-layer nickelate superconductors

To understand the microscopic mechanism of the charge order observed in the parent compound of the infinite -layer nickelate superconductors, we consider a minimal three-legged model consisting of a two-legged Hubbard ladder for the Ni 3dx2-y2 electrons and a free conduction electron chain from the rare-earths. With highly accurate density matrix renormalization group calculations, when the chemical potential difference is adjusted to make the Hubbard ladder with 1/3 hole doping, we find a long-range charge order with period 3 in the ground state of the model, while the spin excitation has a small energy gap. Moreover, the electron pair-pair correlation has a quasi-long-range behavior, indicating an instability of superconductivity even at half-filling. As a comparison, the same method is applied to a pure two-legged Hubbard model with 1/3 hole doping in which the period-3 charge order is a quasi-long-range one. The difference between them demonstrates that the free electron chain of the three-legged ladder plays the role of a charge reservoir and enhances the charge order in the undoped infinite-layer nickelates.

Automated summary

We investigated the microscopic mechanism of charge order in the parent compound of infinite-layer nickelate superconductors using a minimal three-legged model. Our findings suggest that the presence of a free electron chain enhances the charge order observed in undoped nickelates, leading to a long-range charge order with period 3. The spin excitation has a small energy gap and the electron pair-pair correlation indicates an instability of superconductivity even at half-filling.