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arXiv:1501.00978 · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Quantum dimer model for the pseudogap metal

Matthias Punk, Andrea Allais, Subir Sachdev A

Published Jul 20, 2015• 83 citations
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Abstract

Significance The most interesting states of the copper oxide compounds are not the superconductors with high critical temperatures. Instead, the novelty lies primarily in the higher temperature metallic “normal” states from which the superconductors descend. Here, we develop a simple, intuitive model for the physics of the metal at low carrier density, in the “pseudogap” regime. This model describes an exotic metal that is similar in many respects to simple metals like silver. However, the simple metallic character coexists with “topological order” and long-range quantum entanglement previously observed only in exotic insulators or fractional quantum Hall states in very high magnetic fields. Our model is compatible with many recent observations, and we discuss more definitive experimental tests.

DOI
10.1073/pnas.1512206112

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Significance The most interesting states of the copper oxide compounds are not the superconductors with high critical temperatures. Instead, the novelty lies primarily in the higher temperature metallic “normal” states from which the superconductors descend. Here, we develop a simple, intuitive model for the physics of the metal at low carrier density, in the “pseudogap” regime. This model describes an exotic metal that is similar in many respects to simple metals like silver. However, the simple metallic character coexists with “topological order” and long-range quantum entanglement previously observed only in exotic insulators or fractional quantum Hall states in very high magnetic fields. Our model is compatible with many recent observations, and we discuss more definitive experimental tests.
Many properties of the copper oxide high-temperature superconductors are still poorly understood, despite more than thirty years of research. This is true in particular for the metallic ``pseudogap'' state, out of which the well-known superconducting phase develops upon increasing the concentration of hole-like charge carriers. Here, the authors analyze the single-electron spectral function of a recently introduced quantum dimer model, which features a very interesting metallic ground state with topological order: a so-called fractionalized Fermi liquid. Earlier works have argued that this model describes several key properties of the pseudogap metal, such as Fermi-arc like features in photoemission experiments. Using a combination of numerical and analytical methods, the authors show that this model indeed features a sizable antinodal pseudogap with an angular dependence deviating from a simple ddd-wave form, in accordance with various experimental results on underdoped cuprates.
Recently developed numerical methods have enabled the explicit construction of the superconducting state of the Hubbard model of strongly correlated electrons in parameter regimes where the model also exhibits a pseudogap and a Mott insulating phase. d(x(2)-y(2)) symmetry superconductivity is found to occur in proximity to the Mott insulator, but separated from it by a pseudogapped nonsuperconducting phase. The superconducting transition temperature and order parameter amplitude are found to be maximal at the onset of the normal-state pseudogap. The emergence of superconductivity from the normal state pseudogap leads to a decrease in the excitation gap. All of these features are consistent with the observed behavior of the copper-oxide superconductors.
In this paper, we try to understand the pseudogap phenomenon observed in the cuprate superconductor through a model study. Specifically, we explore the so-called low-temperature pseudogap state by turning off the superconducting (SC) off diagonal long range order in an ansatz state for the t – J model (Weng 2011 New J. Phys. 13 103039 ). Besides strong non-Gaussian SC fluctuations, the resulting state also exhibits a systematic pseudogap behavior in both spin and charge degrees of freedom, manifested in the uniform spin susceptibility, specific heat, non-Drude resistivity, Nernst effect, as well as the quantum oscillation associated with small Fermi pockets emerging in strong magnetic fields, etc. These anomalous 'normal state' properties are found in qualitative consistency with experimental measurements in the cuprates. Such a model study establishes an intrinsic connection between the peculiar pseudogap properties and the non-BCS nature of the SC ground state. A critical comparison with other approaches to the doped Mott insulator is also made.
The quantum entanglement of many states of matter can be represented by electric and magnetic fields, much like those found in Maxwell's theory. These fields 'emerge' from the quantum structure of the many-electron state, rather than being fundamental degrees of freedom of the vacuum. I review basic aspects of the theory of emergent gauge fields in insulators in an intuitive manner. In metals, Fermi liquid (FL) theory relies on adiabatic continuity from the free electron state, and its central consequence is the existence of long-lived electron-like quasi-particles around a Fermi surface enclosing a volume determined by the total density of electrons, via the Luttinger theorem. However, long-range entanglement and emergent gauge fields can also be present in metals. I focus on the 'fractionalized Fermi liquid' (FL*) state, which also has long-lived electron-like quasi-particles around a Fermi surface; however, the Luttinger theorem on the Fermi volume is violated, and this requires the presence of emergent gauge fields, and the associated loss of adiabatic continuity with the free electron state. Finally, I present a brief survey of some recent experiments in the hole-doped cuprate superconductors, and interpret the properties of the pseudogap regime in the framework of the FL* theory.This article is part of the themed issue 'Unifying physics and technology in light of Maxwell's equations'.
This article is based on a talk by S.S. at the Nambu Memorial Symposium at the University of Chicago. We review ideas on the nature of the metallic states of the hole-doped cuprate high temperature superconductors, with an emphasis on the connections between the Luttinger theorem for the size of the Fermi surface, topological quantum field theories (TQFTs), and critical theories involving changes in the size of the Fermi surface. We begin with the derivation of the Luttinger theorem for a Fermi liquid, using momentum balance during a process of flux-insertion in a lattice electronic model with toroidal boundary conditions. We then review the TQFT of the Z2 spin liquid, and demonstrate its compatibility with the toroidal momentum balance argument. This discussion leads naturally to a simple construction of `topological' Fermi liquid states: the fractionalized Fermi liquid (FL*) and the algebraic charge liquid (ACL). We present arguments for a description of the pseudogap metal of the cuprates using Z2-FL* or Z2-ACL states with Ising-nematic order. These pseudogap metal states are also described as Higgs phases of a SU(2) gauge theory. The Higgs field represents local antiferromagnetism, but the Higgs-condensed phase does not have long-range antiferromagnetic order: the magnitude of the Higgs field determines the pseudogap, the reconstruction of the Fermi surface, and the Ising-nematic order. Finally, we discuss the route to the large Fermi surface Fermi liquid via the critical point where the Higgs condensate and Ising nematic order vanish, and the application of Higgs criticality to the strange metal.
In strongly correlated materials, interacting electrons are entangled and form collective quantum states, resulting in rich low-temperature phase diagrams. Notable examples include cuprate superconductors, in which superconductivity emerges at low doping out of an unusual "pseudogap" metallic state above the critical temperature. The Fermi-Hubbard model, describing a wide range of phenomena associated with strong electron correlations, still offers major computational challenges despite its simple formulation. In this context, ultracold atoms quantum simulators have provided invaluable insights into the microscopic nature of correlated quantum states. Here, we use a quantum gas microscope Fermi-Hubbard simulator to explore a wide range of dopings and temperatures in a regime where a pseudogap is known to develop. By measuring multipoint correlation functions up to fifth order, we uncover a universal scaling behavior in magnetic and higher-order spin-charge correlations characterized by a doping-dependent temperature scale. Accurate comparisons with determinant Quantum Monte Carlo and Minimally Entangled Typical Thermal States simulations confirm that this temperature scale is comparable to the pseudogap temperature [Formula: see text]. Our quantitative findings reveal a qualitative behavior of magnetic properties and spin-charge correlations in an emergent pseudogap and pave the way toward the exploration of charge pairing and collective phenomena expected at lower temperatures.