Nodal liquid theory of the pseudo-gap phase of high-{Tc} superconductors
- Univ. of California, Santa Barbara, CA (United States). Inst. for Theoretical Physics
The authors introduce and study the nodal liquid, a novel zero-temperature quantum phase obtained by quantum-disordering a d-wave superconductor. It has numerous remarkable properties which lead them to suggest it as an explanation of the pseudo-gap state in underdoped high-temperature superconductors. In the absence of impurities, these include power-law magnetic order, a T-linear spin susceptibility, nontrivial thermal conductivity, and two- and one-particle charge gaps, the latter evidenced, e.g. in transport and electron photoemission (which exhibits pronounced fourfold anisotropy inherited from the d-wave quasiparticles). The authors use a (2 + 1)-dimensional duality transformation to derive an effective field theory for this phase. The theory is comprised of gapless neutral Dirac particles living at the former d-wave nodes, weakly coupled to the fluctuating gauge field of a dual Ginzburg-Landau theory. The nodal liquid interpolates naturally between the d-wave superconductor and the insulating antiferromagnet, and the effective field theory is powerful enough to permit a detailed analysis of a panoply of interesting phenomena, including charge ordering, antiferromagnetism, and d-wave superconductivity. The authors also discuss the zero-temperature quantum phase transitions which separate the nodal liquid from various ordered phases.
- OSTI ID:
- 624095
- Journal Information:
- International Journal of Modern Physics B, Vol. 12, Issue 10; Other Information: PBD: 20 Apr 1998
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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