Continuous momentum dependence in the dynamical cluster approximation

The dynamical cluster approximation (DCA) is a quantum cluster extension to the single-site dynamical mean-field theory that incorporates spatially nonlocal dynamic correlations systematically and nonperturbatively. The DCA+ algorithm addresses the cluster shape dependence of the DCA and improves the convergence with cluster size by introducing a lattice self-energy with continuous momentum dependence. However, we show that the DCA+ algorithm is plagued by a fundamental problem when its self-consistency equations are formulated using the bare Green's function of the cluster. This problem is most severe in the strongly correlated regime at low doping, where the DCA+ self-energy becomes overly metallic and local, and persists to cluster sizes where the standard DCA has long converged. In view of the failure of the DCA+ algorithm, we propose to complement DCA simulations with a post-interpolation procedure for single-particle and two-particle correlation functions to preserve continuous momentum dependence and the associated benefits in the DCA. We demonstrate the effectiveness of this practical approach with results for the half-filled and hole-doped two-dimensional Hubbard model.