7.

6 Spin Density Waves 38 1

volume of the unit cell, the spin susceptibility, and the conduction elec-
tron entropy. The PM-PI transition is often likened to the liquid-gas
transition and like that, it can also proceed completely smoothly by go-
ing around the critical point where the first-order phase boundary ends.
For a simple cubic Hubbard model with perfect nesting, we expect the
phase diagram shown in Fig. 7.6. The overall features are confirmed
by dynamical mean field theories for the infinite-dimensional Hubbard
model.

7.6.4 Away from Half-Filling

Half-filling plays a distinguished role because the assured existence of
a Mott transition at some critical value of U / t makes it certain that
the ground state is insulating in the strong coupling limit28. The in-
sulating domain can be enlarged by magnetic long range order which
adds further Fourier components to the effective field, opening gaps in
certain parts of the Brillouin zone. Perfect nesting can make the sys-
tem insulating even in the weak coupling regime. Though we have seen
signs that the SDW mean field theory is not completely trustworthy
beyond the weak coupling regime, we do not see any reason to doubt its
essential conclusion that the weak-coupling and strong-coupling insu-
lating regimes are connected, and the antiferromagnetic Mott insulator
evolves continuously from the SDW state.
The situation is rather different away from half-filling where an ele-
mentary discussion of local correlation effects led to the conclusion that
the system remains metallic even at U + 00. If the system turns out
to be insulating, it can only29 be due to the formation of a spin den-
sity wave which is a weak-to-intermediate coupling phenomenon (at any
rate, the kinetic exchange strength t 2 / U diminishes as U + 00).
N

Here we have to discuss one-dimensional and higher-dimensionalsys-

tems separately. We have pointed it out that any one-dimensional band
enough for most cases of practical interest.
'*For degenerate Hubbard models, the same is true for any integral filling.
29Assumingthat the system can be described by the Hubbard model. Intersite
Coulomb interaction can make a quarter-filled band insulating, turning it into a
Wigner crystal. Coupling to the lattice can also open gaps due to a Peierls distortion,
and the accompanying charge density waves [138].