Kavli Affiliate: Leon Balents
| First 5 Authors: Jens H. Nyhegn, Jens H. Nyhegn, , ,
| Summary:
The complex interplay between charge and spin dynamics lies at the heart of
strongly correlated quantum materials, and it is a fundamental topic in basic
research with far reaching technological perspectives. We explore in this paper
the dynamics of holes in a single band extended $t-J$ model where the
background spins form a $mathbbZ_2$ quantum spin liquid (QSL). Using a
field theory approach based on a parton construction, we show that while the
electrons for most momenta fractionalize into uncorrelated charge carrying
holons and spin carrying spinons as generally expected for a QSL, the
spinon-holon scattering cross-section diverges for certain momenta signalling
strong correlations. By deriving an effective low-energy Hamiltonian describing
this dynamics, we demonstrate that these divergencies are due to the formation
of long lived spinon-holon bound states. We then show that quantum gas
microscopy with atoms in optical lattices provides an excellent platform for
verifying and probing the internal spatial structure of these emergent
fermions. The fermions will furthermore show up as clear quasiparticle peaks in
angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy with an intensity determined by their
internal structure. For a non-zero hole concentration, the fermions form hole
pockets with qualitatively the same location, shape, and intensity variation in
the Brillouin zone as the so-called Fermi arcs observed in the pseudogap phase.
Such agreement is remarkable since the Fermi arcs arise from the delicate
interplay between the symmetry of the QSL and the internal structure of the
emerging fermions in a minimal single band model with no extra degrees of
freedom added. Our results, therefore, provide a microscopic mechanism for the
conjectured fractionalized Fermi liquid and open up new pathways for exploring
the pseudogap phase and high temperature superconductivity as arising from a
QSL.
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