We review nonperturbative numerical calculations on dynamical properties of the two-dimensional Hubbard model and their relevance to various spectroscopic experiments on high-temperature superconducting cuprates. The unbiased nonperturbative theories have revealed the existence of a self-energy singularity in slightly doped Mott insulators, which is responsible for both the pseudogap formation and high-temperature superconductivity. The self-energy pole traces back to the Mott gap at zero doping, underscoring that Mott physics lies at the heart of both the pseudogap and high-temperature superconductivity. This mechanism of the pseudogap relies neither on competing order nor preformed pair while that of the high superconducting transition temperature does not necessitate a bosonic glue to mediate Cooper pairing. Instead, both mechanisms are linked to the singular self-energy inherent to the Mott insulator. The presence of the self-energy pole accounts for various spectroscopic anomalies reported so far in experiments, deforming the spectral structure in a manner beyond a simple mass renormalization. The low-energy electron dynamics, as computed with the self-energy pole, suggest the existence of a hidden fermionic excitation coupling to quasiparticles.
We study electronic structure of hole- and electron-doped Mott insulators in the two-dimensional Hubbard model to reach a unified picture for the normal state of cuprate high-
Tc superconductors. By using a cluster extension of the dynamical mean-field theory, we demonstrate that structure of coexisting zeros and poles of the single-particle Green's function holds the key to understand Mott physics in the underdoped region. We show evidence for the emergence of non-Fermi-liquid phase caused by the topological quantum phase transition of Fermi surface by analyzing low-energy charge dynamics. The spectra calculated in a wide range of energy and momentum reproduce various anomalous properties observed in experiments for the high-
Tc cuprates. Our results reveal that the pseudogap in hole-doped cuprates has a
d-wavelike structure only below the Fermi level while it retains non-
d-wave structure with a fully opened gap above the Fermi energy even in the nodal direction due to a zero surface extending over the entire Brillouin zone. In addition to the non-
d-wave pseudogap, the present comprehensive identifications of the spectral asymmetry as to the Fermi energy, the Fermi arc, and the back-bending behavior of the dispersion, waterfall, and low-energy kink, in agreement with the experimental anomalies of the cuprates, do not support that these originate from (the precursors of) symmetry breakings such as the preformed pairing and the
d-density-wave fluctuations, but support that they are direct consequences of the proximity to the Mott insulator. Several possible experiments are further proposed to prove or disprove our zero mechanism.
The high-temperature superconductivity in copper oxides emerges when carriers are doped into the parent Mott insulator. This well-established fact has, however, eluded a microscopic explanation. Here we show that the missing link is the self-energy pole in the energy-momentum space. Its continuous evolution with doping directly connects the Mott insulator and high-temperature superconductivity. We show this by numerically studying the extremely small doping region close to the Mott insulating phase in a standard model for cuprates, the two-dimensional Hubbard model. We first identify two relevant self-energy structures in the Mott insulator: the pole generating the Mott gap and a relatively broad peak generating the so-called waterfall structure, which is another consequence of strong correlations present in the Mott insulator. We next reveal that either the Mott-gap pole or the waterfall structure (the feature at the energy closer to the Fermi level) directly transforms itself into another self-energy pole at the same energy and momentum when the system is doped with carriers. The anomalous self-energy yielding the superconductivity is simultaneously born exactly at this energy-momentum point. Thus created self-energy pole, interpreted as arising from a hidden fermionic excitation, continuously evolves upon further doping and considerably enhances the superconductivity. Above the critical temperature, the same self-energy pole generates a pseudogap in the normal state. We thus elucidate a unified Mott-physics mechanism, where the self-energy structure inherent to the Mott insulator directly gives birth to both the high critical superconducting temperature and pseudogap.
The dynamics of a microscopic cuprate model, namely, the two-dimensional Hubbard model, is studied with a cluster extension of the dynamical mean-field theory. We find a nontrivial structure of the frequency-dependent self-energies, which describes an unprecedented interplay between the pseudogap and superconductivity. We show that these properties are well described by quasiparticles hybridizing with (hidden) fermionic excitations, emergent from the strong electronic correlations. The hidden fermion enhances superconductivity via a mechanism distinct from a conventional boson-mediated pairing, and originates the normal-state pseudogap. Though the hidden fermion is elusive in experiments, it can solve many experimental puzzles.
We study the frequency-dependent structure of electronic self-energy in the pseudogap and superconducting states of the two-dimensional Hubbard model. We present the self-energy calculated with the cellular dynamical mean-field theory systematically in the space of temperature, electron density, and interaction strength. We show that the low-frequency part of the self-energy is well represented by a simple equation, which describes the transitions of an electron to and from a hidden-fermionic state. By fitting the numerical data with this simple equation, we determine the parameters characterizing the hidden fermion and discuss its identity. The simple expression of the self-energy offers a way to organize numerical data of these uncomprehended superconducting and pseudogap states, as well as a useful tool to analyze spectroscopic experimental results. The successful description by the simple two-component fermion model supports the idea of ``dark'' and ``bright'' fermions emerging from a bare electron as bistable excitations in doped Mott insulators.
Underdoped Mott insulators provide us with a challenge of many-body physics. Recent renewed understanding is discussed in terms of the evolution of pole and zero structure of the single-particle Green's function. Pseudogap as well as Fermi arc/pocket structure in the underdoped cuprates is well reproduced from the recent cluster extension of the dynamical mean-field theory. Emergent coexisting zeros and poles set the underdoped Mott insulator apart from the Fermi liquid, separated by topological transitions. Cofermion proposed as a generalization of exciton in the slave-boson framework accounts for the origin of the zero surface formation. The cofermion-quasiparticle hybridization gap offers a natural understanding of the pseudogap and various unusual Mottness. Furthermore the cofermion offers a novel pairing mechanism, where the cofermion has two roles: It reinforces the Cooper pair as a pair partner of the quasiparticle and acts as a glue as well. It provides a strong insight for solving the puzzle found in the dichotomy of the gap structure.
Though most fermionic Mott insulators order at low temperatures, ordering is ancillary to their insulating behavior. Our emphasis here is on disentangling ordering from the intrinsic strongly correlated physics of a doped half-filled band. To this end, we focus on the two-dimensional Hubbard model. Because the charge gap arises from on-site correlations, we have been refining the nonperturbative approach of Matsumoto and Mancini [Phys. Rev. B 55, 2095 (1997)] which incorporates local physics. Crucial to this method is a self-consistent two-site dynamical cluster expansion which builds in the nearest-neighbor energy scale J. At half-filling, we find that the spectral function possesses a gap of order U and is devoid of any coherent quasiparticle peaks although ordering or charge fractionalization are absent. At low temperatures, local antiferromagnetic correlations emerge. In the doped case, we find that the Fermi surface exceeds the Luttinger volume. The breakdown of Luttinger's theorem in the underdoped regime is traced both to the dynamically generated Mott gap as well to a nonvanishing of the imaginary part of the self-energy at the Fermi level. Spectral weight transfer across the Mott gap also emerges as a ubiquitous feature of a doped Mott insulator and suggests that high- and low-energy scales are inseparable. Additionally in the underdoped regime, we find that a pseudogap exists in the single-particle density of states as well as in the heat capacity. The pseudogap (which is set by the energy scale
t2/U) is argued to be a ubiquitous feature of a lightly doped Mott state and simply represents the fact that hole transport involves double occupancy. In analogy with the Mott gap and antiferromagnetism, we propose that ordering may also accompany the formation of a pseudogap. We suggest a current pattern within a one-band model that preserves translational but breaks time-reversal symmetry along the canonical x and y axes but not along $x=\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}y$ that is consistent with the experimental observations. Finally, we show that the Hall coefficient in a doped Mott insulator must change sign at a doping level
x<1/3. The sign change is tied to a termination of strong correlation physics in the doped Mott state.