Variational cluster approximation study of the one-dimensional Holstein-Hubbard model at half filling

The half-filled one-dimensional Holstein-Hubbard model presents, at zero temperature, a charge-density-wave (CDW) phase and a Mott insulator phase. Recent results have shown that the transition from one phase to the other might proceed through an intermediate metallic phase. In this work, we determine the CDW phase boundary using the variational cluster approximation. Using exact diagonalization and cluster perturbation theory, we study both the pair susceptibility and the spectral gaps in the non-CDW part of the phase diagram. We cannot rule out the existence of an intermediate metallic phase.