d x 2 - y 2 superconductivity and the Hubbard model

The numerical studies of d x 2 - y 2 -wave pairing in the two-dimensional (2D) and the 2-leg Hubbard models are reviewed. For this purpose, the results obtained from the determinantal Quantum Monte Carlo and the Density-Matrix Renormalization-Group calculations are presented. These are calculations which were motivated by the discovery of the high- T c cuprates. In this review, the emphasis is placed on the microscopic many-body processes which are responsible for the d x 2 - y 2 -wave pairing correlations observed in the 2D and the 2-leg Hubbard models. In order to gain insight into these processes, the results on the effective pairing interaction as well as the magnetic, density and the single-particle excitations will be reviewed. In addition, comparisons will be made with the other numerical approaches to the Hubbard model and the numerical results on the t - J model. The results reviewed here indicate that an effective pairing interaction which is repulsive at ( ~ , ~ ) momentum transfer, and enhanced single-particle spectral weight near the ( ~ ,0) and (0, ~ ) points of the Brillouin zone, create optimum conditions for d x 2 - y 2 -wave pairing. These are two effects which act to enhance the d x 2 - y 2 -wave pairing correlations in the Hubbard model. Finding additional ways is an active research problem.