Ground States of Infinite-Layer Nickelates at Strong Coupling: A Variational Study

Motivated by the recent discovery of superconductivity in infinite-layer nickelates, we study a two orbital model, including both nickel 3d and the rare-earth 5d orbitals, in the regime of strong local repulsive interactions. Using variational Monte-Carlo calculations which treat strong correlations via suitable projection techniques, we investigate superconductivity and study its dependence on the hole and electron doping, three-dimensionality, and the energetics of the rare-earth 5d orbital. We report a ground state phase diagram of this system, and provide complementary insights using a parton mean-field theory.