Canonical transformation of the Hubbard model and W=0 pairing: Comparison with exact diagonalization results

We have recently developed a canonical transformation of the Hubbard and related models, valid for systems of arbitrary size and for the full plane; this is particularly suited to study hole pairing. In this work we show that exact diagonalization results of the one band Hubbard model for small clusters with periodic boundary conditions agree well with the analytical ones obtained by means of our canonical transformation. In the presence of a pairing instability, the analytic approach allows us to identify the Cooper pairs. They are W=0 pairs, that is. singlet two-hole eigenstates of the Hubbard Hamiltonian with vanishing on-site repulsion. Indeed, we find that the Coulomb interaction effects on W=0 pairs are dynamically small, and repulsive or attractive, depending on the filling.