Charge Order in the Holstein Model on a Honeycomb Lattice

Abstract: The effect of electron-electron interactions on Dirac fermions, and the possibility of an intervening spin liquid phase between the semi-metal and antiferromagnetic (AF) regimes, has been a focus of intense quantum simulation effort over the last five years. We use determinant quantum Monte Carlo (DQMC) to study the Holstein model on a Honeycomb lattice and explore the role of electron-phonon interactions on Dirac fermions. We show that they give rise to charge density wave (CDW) order, and present evidence that this occurs only above a finite critical interaction strength. We evaluate the temperature for the transition into the CDW which, unlike the AF transition, can occur at finite values owing to the discrete nature of the broken symmetry.