Flat quasiparticle dispersion in the 2D t-J model

Dynamics of a single hole in the Heisenberg-Kitaev model: a self-consistent Born approximation study

The magnetic properties of 4d and 5d transition-metal insulating compounds with the honeycomb structure are believed to be described by the Heisenberg-Kitaev model, which contains both the isotropic Heisenberg interaction J and anisotropic Kitaev interaction K. In this paper, we study the single-hole propagation of the t-J-K model in various magnetically ordered phases by the self-consistent Born approximation. We find that there are low-energy coherent quasiparticle (QP) excitations in all of these phases which appear firstly around the K point in the first Brillouin zone (BZ), but the bandwidths of these QPs are very small due to the hole-magnon coupling. Interestingly, in the zigzag phase relevant to recent experiments, though the QP weights are largely suppressed in the physical spectra in the first BZ, we find that they recover in the extended BZs. Moreover, our results reveal that the low-energy QP spectra are reduced with the increase of K.

Differences between the insulating limit quasiparticles of one-band and three-band cuprate models

We study the charge dynamics of the quasiparticle that forms when a single hole is doped in a two-dimensional antiferromagnet as described by the one-band t-t'-t"-J model, using a variational approximation that includes spin fluctuations in the vicinity of the hole. We explain why the spin fluctuations and the longer range hopping have complementary contributions to the quasiparticle dynamics, and thus why both are essential to obtain a dispersion in agreement with that measured experimentally. This is very different from the three-band Emery model in the strongly-correlated limit, where the same variational approximation shows that spin fluctuations have a minor effect on the quasiparticle dynamics. This difference proves that these one-band and three-band models describe qualitatively different quasiparticles in the insulating limit, and therefore that they cannot both be suitable to describe the physics of very underdoped cuprates.

Monte Carlo study of an unconventional superconducting phase in iridium oxide J(eff)=1/2 Mott insulators induced by carrier doping

Based on a microscopic theoretical study, we show that novel superconductivity is induced by carrier doping in layered perovskite Ir oxides where a strong spin-orbit coupling causes an effective total angular momentum J(eff)=1/2 Mott insulator. Using a variational Monte Carlo method, we find an unconventional superconducting state in the ground state phase diagram of a t(2g) three-orbital Hubbard model on the square lattice. This superconducting state is characterized by a d(x(2)-y(2))-wave "pseudospin singlet" formed by the J(eff)=1/2 Kramers doublet, which thus contains interorbital as well as both singlet and triplet components of t(2g) electrons. The superconducting state is found stable only by electron doping, but not by hole doping, for the case of carrier doped Sr2IrO4. We also study an effective single-orbital Hubbard model to discuss the similarities to high-T(c) cuprate superconductors and the multiorbital effects.

High-energy anomaly in the band dispersion of the ruthenate superconductor

We reveal a "high-energy anomaly" (HEA) in the band dispersion of the unconventional ruthenate superconductor Sr2RuO4, by means of high-resolution angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) with tunable energy and polarization of incident photons. This observation provides another class of correlated materials exhibiting this anomaly beyond high-T(c) cuprates. We demonstrate that two distinct types of band renormalization associated with and without the HEA occur as a natural consequence of the energetics in the bandwidth and the energy scale of the HEA. Our results are well reproduced by a simple analytical form of the self-energy based on the Fermi-liquid theory, indicating that the HEA exists at a characteristic energy scale of the multielectron excitations. We propose that the HEA universally emerges if the systems have such a characteristic energy scale inside of the bandwidth.

Mott transition in the two-dimensional Hubbard model

Spectral properties of the two-dimensional Hubbard model near the Mott transition are investigated by using cluster perturbation theory. The Mott transition is characterized by freezing of the charge degrees of freedom in a single-particle excitation that leads continuously to the magnetic excitation of the Mott insulator. Various anomalous spectral features observed in cuprate high-temperature superconductors are explained in a unified manner as properties near the Mott transition.

Composite-fermion theory for pseudogap, Fermi arc, hole pocket, and non-Fermi liquid of underdoped cuprate superconductors

We propose that an extension of the exciton concept to doped Mott insulators offers a fruitful insight into challenging issues of the copper oxide superconductors. In our extension, new fermionic excitations called cofermions emerge in conjunction to generalized excitons. The cofermions hybridize with conventional quasiparticles. Then a hybridization gap opens, and is identified as the pseudogap observed in the underdoped cuprates. The resultant Fermi-surface reconstruction naturally explains a number of unusual properties of the underdoped cuprates, such as the Fermi arc and/or pocket formation.

Tunneling spectra of layered strongly correlated d-wave superconductors

Tunneling conductance experiments on cuprate superconductors exhibit a large diversity of spectra that appear in different nanosized regions of inhomogeneous samples. In this Letter, we use a mean-field approach to the tt't''J model in order to address the features in these spectra that deviate from the BCS paradigm, namely, the bias sign asymmetry at high bias, the generic lack of evidence for the van Hove singularity, and the absence of coherence peaks at low dopings. We conclude that these features can be reproduced in homogeneous layered d-wave superconductors solely due to a proximate Mott insulating transition. We also establish the connection between the above tunneling spectral features and the strong renormalization of the electron dispersion around (0, pi) and (pi, 0) and the momentum space anisotropy of electronic states observed in angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy experiments.

Enhancement of pairing correlation by t' in the two-dimensional extended t-J model

We investigate the effects of the next-nearest-neighbor (t') and the third-nearest-neighbor (t") hopping terms on superconductivity correlation in the 2D hole-doped extended t-J model based on the variational Monte Carlo, mean-field calculation and exact diagonalization method. Despite the diversity of the methods employed, the results all point to a consistent conclusion: While the d-wave superconductivity correlation is slightly suppressed by t' and t" in underdoped regions, it is greatly enhanced in the optimal and overdoped regions. The optimal Tc is a result of the balance of these two opposite trends.

Low-energy spectra in t-J-type models at low doping levels

Based on a variational approach, we propose that there are two kinds of low-energy states in the t-J-type models at low doping. In a quasiparticle state an unpaired spin bound to a hole with a well-defined momentum can be excited with spin waves. The resulting state shows a suppression of antiferromagnetic order around the hole with the profile of a spin bag. These spin-bag states with spin and charge or hole separated form a continuum of low-energy excitations. Very different properties predicted by these two kinds of states explain a number of anomalous results observed in the exact diagonalization studies on small clusters up to 32 sites.

Theory for slightly doped antiferromagnetic mott insulators

New trial wave functions, constructed explicitly from the unique Mott insulating state with antiferromagnetic order, are proposed to describe the ground state of a Mott insulator slightly doped with holes or electrons. A rigid band is observed as charged quasiparticles with well-defined momenta being realized in these states. These states have much less superconducting correlations than previously studied ones. Small Fermi patches obtained are consistent with recent experiments on high T(c) cuprates doped lightly with holes or electrons.

Robustness of the Van Hove scenario for high-T(c) superconductors

The pinning of the Fermi level to the Van Hove singularity and the formation of flat bands in the two-dimensional t-t' Hubbard model is investigated by the renormalization group technique. The "Van Hove" scenario of non-Fermi-liquid behavior for high-T(c) compounds can take place in a broad enough range of the hole concentrations. The results are in qualitative agreement with the recent angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy data on La 2CuO (4).

Spontaneous deformation of the fermi surface due to strong correlation in the two-dimensional t- J model

The Fermi surface of the two-dimensional t- J model is studied using the variational Monte Carlo method. We study the Gutzwiller-projected d-wave superconducting state with an additional variational parameter t(')(v) corresponding to the next-nearest-neighbor hopping term. It is found that the finite t(')(v)<0 gives the lowest variational energy in the wide range of hole-doping rates. The obtained momentum distribution function shows that the Fermi surface deforms spontaneously. It is also shown that the Van Hove singularity is always located very close to the Fermi energy. Using the Gutzwiller approximation, we show that this deformation is due to the Gutzwiller projection operator or the strong correlation.