Second-order dual fermion approach to the Mott transition in the two-dimensional Hubbard model

We apply the dual fermion approach with a second-order approximation to the self-energy to the Mott transition in the two-dimensional Hubbard model. The approximation captures nonlocal dynamical short-range correlations as well as several features observed in studies using cluster dynamical mean-field theory. This includes a strong reduction of the critical interaction and inversion of the slope of the transition lines with respect to single-site dynamical mean-field theory. We show that these effects coincide with a much smaller momentum differentiation compared to cluster methods. We further discuss the role of the self-consistency condition and show that the approximation behaves as an asymptotic series at low temperature.