Modeling Intertwined Orders in the Cuprate Pseudogap - Robert Markiewicz

SSO Seminar - Robert Markiewicz of Northeastern University

Abstract: 

I present a comprehensive model of intertwined orders in the cuprate pseudogap.  Surprisingly, the governing correlations are not associated with large interactions, but with a frustrated first-order transition between an antiferromagnet (AFM) and a nematic phase. This results in a variety of charged stripe phases, the electric analog of the superconductor in a magnetic field.
The model predicts a number of signatures of pseudogap termination, including crossover from small to large Fermi surface, proximity to a logarithmically-diverging specific heat, and discontinuous termination of the pseudogap within the Mott regime. For low doping the holes dress topological defects of the AFM (domain walls), leading to a stripe-like texture of the AFM. The intertwined orders consist of three related stripe phases that evolve differently with doping. The pseudogap is dominated by a transition between Mott-like and Slater-like physics. The model is based on cuprate-specific dispersions, in either one or four band [generalized Emery model] versions. The nematic phase is associated with Jahn-Teller-like distortions, which can be either static or dynamic. I will further elucidate the origin of the intermediate texture, responsible for most of the quantum oscillations, the role of high-order Van Hove singularities, and the consistency of the model with density functional theory.