arXiv:cond-mat/0203048 · Physical review. B, Condensed matter
Chiral symmetry breaking and violation of the Wiedemann-Franz law in underdoped cuprates
Guo-Zhu Liu, Geng Cheng
Abstract
We propose that the recently observed violation of the Wiedemann-Franz law in the normal state of underdoped cuprates is caused by spin-charge separation and dynamical chiral symmetry breaking in a $(2+1)$-dimensional system consisting of massless Dirac fermions, charged bosons, and a gauge field. While the d-wave spinon gap vanishes at the Fermi points, the nodal fermions acquire a finite mass due to strong gauge fluctuations. This mass provides a gap below which no free fermions can be excited. This implies that there is not a residual linear term for the thermal conductivity, in good agreement with experiments. Other physical implications of the chiral symmetry breaking are also discussed.