Mean-field description of the phase string effect in the t−J model
Zheng-Yu Weng, D. N. Sheng, C. S. Ting
A mean-field treatment of the phase string effect in the $t\ensuremath{-}J$ model is presented. Such a theory is able to unite the antiferromagnetic (AF) phase at half-filling and the metallic phase at finite doping within a single theoretical framework. We find that the low-temperature occurrence of the AF long-range ordering (AFLRO) at half-filling and superconducting condensation in the metallic phase are all due to Bose condensations of spinons and holons, respectively, on the top of a spin background described by bosonic resonating-valence-bond pairing. The fact that both spinon and holon here are bosonic objects, as the result of the phase string effect, represents a crucial difference from the conventional slave-boson and slave-fermion approaches. This theory also allows an underdoped metallic regime where the Bose condensation of spinons can still exist. Even though the AFLRO is gone here, such a regime corresponds to a microscopic charge inhomogeneity with short-ranged spin ordering. We discuss some characteristic experimental consequences for those different metallic regimes. A perspective on broader issues based on the phase string theory is also discussed.
arXiv:cond-mat/9809362•Physical review. B, Condensed matter•Apr 1, 1999•43 citations