We study the half-filled Hubbard model on a one-parameter family of vortex-full square lattices ranging from the isotropic case to weakly coupled Hubbard dimers. The ground-state phase diagram consists of four phases: A semimetal and a band insulator which are connected to the weak-coupling limit, and a magnetically ordered Néel phase and a valence bond solid (VBS) which are linked to the strong-coupling Mott limit. The phase diagram is obtained by quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) and continuous unitary transformations (CUTs). The CUT is performed in a two-step process: Nonperturbative graph-based CUTs are used in the Mott insulating phase to integrate out charge fluctuations. The resulting effective spin model is tackled by perturbative CUTs about the isolated dimer limit yielding the breakdown of the VBS by triplon condensation. We find three scenarios when varying the interaction for a fixed anisotropy of hopping amplitudes: (i) one direct phase transition from Néel to semimetal, (ii) two phase transitions VBS to Néel and Néel to semimetal, or (iii) a smooth crossover from VBS to the band insulator. Our results are consistent with the absence of spin-liquid phases in the whole phase diagram.

We use non-perturbative linked-cluster expansions to determine the ground-state energy per site of the spin-one Heisenberg model on the kagome lattice. To this end, a parameter is introduced allowing to interpolate between a fully trimerized state and the isotropic model. The ground-state energy per site of the full graph decomposition up to graphs of six triangles (18 spins) displays a complex behaviour as a function of this parameter close to the isotropic model which we attribute to divergencies of partial series in the graph expansion of quasi-1d unfrustrated chain graphs. More concretely, these divergencies can be traced back to a quantum critical point of the one-dimensional unfrustrated chain of coupled triangles. Interestingly, the reorganization of the non-perturbative linked-cluster expansion in terms of clusters with enhanced symmetry yields a ground-state energy per site of the isotropic two-dimensional model being in quantitative agreement with other numerical approaches in favor of a spontaneous trimerization of the system. Our findings are of general importance for any non-perturbative linked-cluster expansion on geometrically frustrated systems.

We introduce a generic scheme to perform non-perturbative linked cluster expansions in long-range ordered quantum phases. Clusters are considered to be surrounded by an ordered reference state leading to effective edge-fields in the exact diagonalization on clusters which break the associated symmetry of the ordered phase. Two approaches, based either on a self-consistent solution of the order parameter or on minimal sensitivity with respect to the ground-state energy per site, are formulated to find the optimal edge-field in each NLCE order. Furthermore, we investigate the scaling behavior of the NLCE data sequences towards the infinite-order limit. We apply our scheme to gapped and gapless ordered phases of XXZ Heisenberg models on various lattices and for spins 1/2 and 1 using several types of cluster expansions ranging from a full-graph decomposition, rectangular clusters, up to more symmetric square clusters. It is found that the inclusion of edgefields allows to regularize non-perturbative linked-cluster expansions in ordered phases yielding convergent data sequences. This includes the long-range spin-ordered ground state of the spin-1/2 and spin-1 Heisenberg model on the square and triangular lattice as well as the trimerized valence bond crystal of the spin-1 Heisenberg model on the kagome lattice.

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