Dynamical vertex approximation for retarded interactions: Application to the Hubbard-Holstein model

Abstract: We extend the dynamical vertex approximation (D$Γ$A), in its most commonly used ladder-version, to systems with retarded electronic interactions. Such an extended scheme, which we name "dynamical-$U$ D$Γ$A", allows us to study strongly interacting electrons coupled to bosons including non-local spatial correlations on all length scales on top of the purely local ones captured by dynamical mean-field theory. We demonstrate the applicability of the method in the specific case of the coupling to a single dispersionless phononic mode, by studying the Hubbard-Holstein model on the square and cubic lattices, focusing on regimes of sizable Hubbard interactions where strong electronic correlations compete with phonon-mediated interactions. As illustrative examples, we consider the antiferromagnetic phase in the three-dimensional model and the d-wave superconductor in two dimensions, analyzing the effect of the electron-phonon coupling, including its frequency dependence, on both instabilities.