Deformation of SU(4) singlet spin-orbital state due to Hund's rule coupling

Abstract

We investigate the ground-state property and the excitation gap of a one-dimensional spin-orbital model with isotropic spin and anisotropic orbital exchange interactions, which represents the strong-coupling limit of a two-orbital Hubbard model including the Hund's rule coupling ($J$) at quarter filling, by using a density-matrix renormalization group method. At J=0, spin and orbital correlations coincide with each other with a peak at $q=\pi/2$, corresponding to the SU(4) singlet state. On the other hand, spin and orbital states change in a different way due to the Hund's rule coupling. With increasing $J$, the peak position of orbital correlation changes to $q=\pi$, while that of spin correlation remains at $q=\pi/2$. In addition, orbital dimer correlation becomes robust in comparison with spin dimer correlation, suggesting that quantum orbital fluctuation is enhanced by the Hund's rule coupling. Accordingly, a relatively large orbital gap opens in comparison with a spin gap, and the system is described by an effective spin system on the background of the orbital dimer state.