Electron-phonon coupling (EPC) and electron-electron interaction are ubiquitous and typically strong in strongly-correlated quantum materials. In this talk, I will show that EPC can play an important (sometimes dominant) role in inducing exotic quantum phases of matter. First, I will discuss how pure Su-Schrieffer-Heeger electron-phonon coupling can induce the antiferromagnetic correlated insulator on the square lattice [1] and the topological quantum spin liquid on the triangular lattice [2]. I will further show that robust d-wave superconductivity can emerge in the Hubbard model with SSH electron phonon coupling at 1/8 doping [3], which may relate to the robust high-Tc superconductivity observed in cuprates.
[1] Xun Cai, Zi-Xiang Li, and Hong Yao, Phys. Rev. Lett. 127, 247203 (2021).
[2] Xun Cai, Zhaoyu Han, Zi-Xiang Li, Steven A. Kivelson, and Hong Yao, PNAS 122, e2426111122 (2025)
[3] Hao-Xin Wang, Yi-Fan Jiang, and Hong Yao, Science Bulletin 70, 2260 (2025)