Metallic conduction and superconductivity in the pseudogap phase

Abstract

We analyze the t-J model on a square lattice using bosonic spinons and fermionic holons for low density x of holes. Spinons are paired into singlets, which condense below a temperature T*. The condensate evolves out of the Mott phase - preserving its symmetry. For T > T* holons and spinons are confined (by gauge forces), so that there is no coherent charge propagation. Metallic conduction and d-wave superconductivity result from separate, sublattice-preserving, holon hopping processes which originate below T* from a coupling with the condensate. A simple effective Hamiltonian describing these processes is derived and solved. Holons form a charge Fermi liquid, becoming incoherent (confined) above T*. In the superconductor holons hop as pairs, reducing kinetic energy. The two-sublattice property is the glue that connects the three phases; its effect can be seen in various correlation functions. The theory can account for many features of the cuprate superconductors, including the origin of two-dimensional metallicity.

7 pages 5 Postscript figures

References in corpus (4)

• Field-enhanced diamagnetism in intense magnetic field in the pseudogap state of the cuprate $\rm Bi_2Sr_2CaCu_2O_{8+δ}
• Constant effective mass across the phase diagram of high-T${}_c$ cuprates
• Kinetic energy change with doping upon superfluid condensation in high temperature superconductors
• Superconductivity-Induced Transfer of In-Plane Spectral Weight in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8: Resolving a Controversy

Cited by in corpus (1)

• A Consistent Theory of Underdoped Cuprates: Evolution of the RVB State From Half Filling