First-order topological phase transition of the Haldane-Hubbard model

We study the interplay of topological band structure and conventional magnetic long-range order in spinful Haldane model with on-site repulsive interaction. Using the dynamical cluster approximation with clusters of up to 24 sites we find evidence of a first-order phase transition from a Chern insulator at weak coupling to a topologically trivial antiferromagnetic insulator at strong coupling. These results call into question a previously found intermediate state with coexisting topological character and antiferromagnetic long-range order. Experimentally measurable signatures of the first-order transition include hysteretic behavior of the double occupancy, single-particle excitation gap, and nearest neighbor spin-spin correlations. This first-order transition is contrasted with a continuous phase transition from the conventional band insulator to the antiferromagnetic insulator in the ionic Hubbard model on the honeycomb lattice.