arXiv:2509.21813 · Physical review. B./Physical review. B
Low-energy photoexcitations inside the Mott gap in doped Hubbard and t − J ladders
Sumal Chandra, Kazuya Shinjo, Shigetoshi Sota, Seiji Yunoki, Takami Tohyama
Abstract
We investigate changes in the optical conductivity of doped Mott insulators by tuning ultrashort pump pulses to target either the Drude or low-energy absorption regions. Using a hole-doped two-leg Hubbard ladder and a four-leg t-J ladders, we calculate the optical conductivity after pump by employing the time-dependent density matrix renormalization group. We find that a monocycle electric field pulse tuned to the Drude absorption reduces the Drude weight, accompanied by a slight enhancement in the mid-infrared (mid-IR) spectral weight. However, this enhancement diminishes as the pulse intensity increases. In contrast, a pump pulse tuned to the mid-IR absorption only affects the Drude weight. This behavior arises because the mid-IR absorption originates from magnetic excitations that do not couple directly to photons. These predictions can be tested experimentally by applying ultrashort low-energy pump pulses to cuprate materials.