Predicting critical temperature in quantum simulators for high-$T_c$ superconductivity: the matrix product state plus mean field approach

Abstract

Quantum simulation based on ultra cold atomic lattice gases is one of the most promising platforms to investigate high-$T_c$ superconductivity beyond the limited capabilities of quantum many body numerics on classical computers. Yet, despite enormous progress since the field's inception, realizing a high-$T_c$ superconducting state still remains out of reach. The present work lays the groundwork to purpose the recently proposed, and already partly realized, mixed-dimensional (mixD) models, towards this end. These systems offer the proven capability to realize very high pairing energies while retaining appreciable mobility of pairs. We specifically investigate the potential of 2D mixD-models with anisotropic tunneling, using the matrix product state plus mean field theory (MPS+MF) for fermions, and show that these models may enter a high-$T_c$ superconducting phase. These simulations in turn are based on a comprehensive characterization of the 1D mixD-systems, which are the sub-units of which the 2D system is comprized. In this, we cover the range of currently experimentally relevant system sizes, and establish practical heuristics to determine when finite\hyp size effects preclude the use of a 1D mixD-system to build the 2D ones.