Discriminating antiferromagnetic signatures in systems of ultracold fermions by tunable geometric frustration

Recently, it has become possible to tune optical lattices continuously between square and triangular geometries. We compute thermodynamics and spin correlations in the corresponding Hubbard model using a determinant quantum Monte Carlo technique and show that the frustration effects induced by the variable hopping terms can be clearly separated from concomitant bandwidth changes by a proper rescaling of the interaction. An enhancement of the double occupancy by geometric frustration signals the destruction of nontrivial antiferromagnetic correlations at weak coupling and entropy s≲ln(2) (and restores Pomeranchuk cooling at strong frustration), paving the way to the long-sought experimental detection of antiferromagnetism in ultracold fermions on optical lattices.