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Polarization-Driven Charge Frustration and Emergent Phases in the One-Dimensional Extended Hubbard Model

Sourabh Saha1, Jeroen van den Brink2,3,4, Manoranjan Kumar1,*,†, and Satoshi Nishimoto2,4,†,‡

  • *Contact author: manoranjan.kumar@bose.res.in
  • †These authors contributed equally to this work.
  • ‡Contact author: s.nishimoto@ifw-dresden.de
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Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 206504 – Published 13 November, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/d5sw-qdfp

Abstract

Frustration is a key driver of exotic quantum phases, yet its role in charge dynamics remains largely unexplored. We show that charge frustration—induced by electronic polarization effects—stabilizes unconventional insulating states in the one-dimensional extended Hubbard model. Using exact diagonalization and density-matrix renormalization group, we uncover a charge-disordered phase that remains insulating despite lacking long-range order and possessing an effectively attractive on-site interaction—a behavior reminiscent of gapful spin liquids in frustrated spin systems. We also identify a fragile ferroelectric phase and a charge-density-wave state with emergent eight-site periodicity. These findings establish charge frustration, driven by charge-dipole interactions, as a robust mechanism for realizing exotic phases in low-dimensional correlated systems, with implications for organic conductors, transition-metal oxides, and ultracold polar molecules.

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Corrections

4 February, 2026

Correction: A project number in the Acknowledgments contained a typographical error and has been fixed.

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Supplemental Material

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Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 206504– Published 13 November, 2025
  • Received 6 May 2025
  • Accepted 14 October 2025
  • Corrected 4 February 2026
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