8.

4 Instability of the Nagaoka State 453

in the interval [ q , , ~ t ] = [-6t,3t]. The asymmetrical shape of the band

(see Fig. 4.4, right) is a consequence of the non-bipartite nature of
the lattice. In contrast to the case of the (bipartite) square lattice,
we find now et < zt. Recalling (8.29), it is clear that near half-filling
KJ,0: (1 - n), i.e., it is of the same order of magnitude as AE?, and
can outweigh it. Putting in the numerical factors, it turns out that the
total spin-flip energy A E < 0, i.e., the Nagaoka state is unstable for
1 - n << 1. A detailed argument [153] shows that the Nagaoka state is
completely eliminated below half-filling ( n < 1).
However, it does not follow that the triangular lattice is incapable
of ferromagnetism; far from it! Since the lattice is not bipartite, its
phase diagram need not be symmetrical about the axis n = 1, and the
physics of the n > 1 and n < 1 regimes can be quite different. In fact,
the Nagaoka theorem assures that it must be so: since the t > 0 and
t < 0 models are related by an electron-hole transformation, it must be
+
true that adding a single electron to the half-filled band ( N = L l ) ,
the ground state has the total spin S = ( L - 1)/2. Using a variety of
stability arguments [153, 1521, one finds that at U = 00, the Nagaoka
state extends over the wide region 1 < n < 1.824, while the smallest
value of V,, is 9.62t, only slightly more than the bandwidth. Though
the fulfillment of local stability criteria does not constitute a proof of
the existence of a high-spin ground state, a comparison of this behaviour
with that of the square lattice strongly suggests that the ferromagnetism
of the triangular lattice is a robust, intermediate-coupling phenomenon.
However, the Mermin-Wagner theorem restricts its presence to T = 0.
We briefly mention two other two-dimensional lattices. The kagome
lattice (Fig. 8.3) gives an even more extreme example of phase diagram
asymmetry. As discussed on p. 429, it is possible to choose the sign o f t
in such a manner that a flat band containing L/3 states is lying at the
bottom of the spectrum (but not at the top). For any U > 0 we find
flat band ferromagnetism (Nagaoka state) if n 5 1/3. The flat band
region is only a part of a huge Nagaoka phase which extends over all
0 < n < 1 (U,,> 0 for n > 1/3). In addition, there is a disjoint part
of the Nagaoka phase, a small “island of stability” around n = 3/2 at
large U.The physical nature of the “island” is quite unclear, since - in
contrast to the Nagaoka “continent” at n < 1 - it is not continuously