Ferromagnetism and Borromean binding in three-fermion clusters

A three-particle spin-12 fermion problem with on-site repulsion and nearest-neighbor attraction is solved on the two-dimensional square lattice by discretizing a Schrödinger equation in momentum space. Energies of bound complexes (trions) and their binding conditions are obtained. For total spin S=1/2, a wide region of trion instability toward decaying into a stable singlet pair plus a free fermion is identified. The instability is attributed to the formation of a wave function node upon addition of the third fermion. In the S=3/2 sector, trions are found to form in the absence of bound pairs indicating Borromean binding. In the strong coupling limit the system transitions from an S=1/2 ground state to a ferromagnetic S=3/2 ground state in agreement with the Nagaoka theorem for a four-site plaquette.