Spin and Charge Correlations across the Metal-to-Insulator Crossover in the Half-Filled 2D Hubbard Model

The 2D Hubbard model with nearest-neighbor hopping on the square lattice and an average of one electron per site is known to undergo an extended crossover from metallic to insulating behavior driven by proliferating antiferromagnetic correlations. We study signatures of this crossover in spin and charge correlation functions and present results obtained with controlled accuracy using the diagrammatic Monte Carlo approach in the range of parameters amenable to experimental verification with ultracold atoms in optical lattices. The qualitative changes in charge and spin correlations associated with the crossover are observed at well-separated temperature scales, which encase the intermediary regime of nonFermi-liquid character, where local magnetic moments are formed and nonlocal fluctuations in both channels are essential.