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Xiao-Gang Wen

Publications and source records attributed to Xiao-Gang Wen.

At least 199 records · Page 11Linked to original sources
arXiv2006

Dichotomy in underdoped high $T_c$ superconductors and spinon-dopon approach to $t$-$t'$-$t''$-$J$ model

We studied underdoped high $T_c$ superconductors using a spinon-dopon approach (or doped-carrier approach) to $t$-$t'$-$t''$-$J$ model, where spinon carries spin and dopon carries both spin and charge. In this approach, the mixing of spinon and dopon describes superconductivity. We found that a nonuniform mixing in $k$-space is most effective in lowering the $t'$ and $t''$ hopping energy. We showed that at mean-field level, the mixing is proportional to quasiparticle spectral weight $Z_-$. We also found a simple monte-carlo algorithm to calculate $Z_{-}$ from the projected spinon-dopon wavefunction, which confirms the mean-field result. Thus the non-uniform mixing caused by $t'$ and $t"$ explains the different electron spectral weights near the nodal and anti-nodal points ({\it i.e.} the dichotomy) observed in underdoped high $T_c$ superconductors. For hole-doped sample, we found that $Z$ is enhanced in the nodal region and suppressed in the anti-nodal region. For electron doped sample, the same approach leads to a suppressed $Z$ in the nodal region and enhanced in the anti-nodal region, in agreement with experimental observations.

cond-mat.str-el↗
arXiv2006

A mean field approach for string condensed states

We describe a mean field technique for quantum string (or dimer) models. Unlike traditional mean field approaches, the method is general enough to include string condensed phases in addition to the usual symmetry breaking phases. Thus, it can be used to study phases and phases transitions beyond Landau's symmetry breaking paradigm. We demonstrate the technique with a simple example: the spin-1 XXZ model on the Kagome lattice. The mean field calculation predicts a number of phases and phase transitions, including a z=2 deconfined quantum critical point.

cond-mat.str-el↗
arXiv2006

Tunneling spectra of layered strongly correlated d-wave superconductors

Tunneling conductance experiments on cuprate superconductors exhibit a large diversity of spectra that appear in different nano-sized regions of inhomogeneous samples. In this letter, we use a mean-field approach to the tt't''J model in order to address the features in these spectra that deviate from the BCS paradigm, namely, the bias sign asymmetry at high bias, the generic lack of evidence for the Van Hove singularity, and the occasional absence of coherence peaks. We conclude that these features can be reproduced in homogeneous layered d-wave superconductors solely due to a proximate Mott insulating transition. We also establish the connection between the above tunneling spectral features and the strong renormalization of the electron dispersion around (0,pi) and (pi,0) and the momentum space anisotropy of electronic states observed in ARPES experiments.

cond-mat.str-el↗
arXiv2006

A lattice bosonic model as a quantum theory of gravity

A local quantum bosonic model on a lattice is constructed whose low energy excitations are gravitons described by linearized Einstein action. Thus the bosonic model is a quantum theory of gravity, at least at the linear level. We find that the compactification and the discretization of metric tenor are crucial in obtaining a quantum theory of gravity.

gr-qc↗
arXiv2006

Doped carrier formulation and mean-field theory of the tt't''J model

In the generalized-tJ model the effect of the large local Coulomb repulsion is accounted for by restricting the Hilbert space to states with at most one electron per site. In this case the electronic system can be viewed in terms of holes hopping in a lattice of correlated spins, where holes are the carriers doped into the half-filled Mott insulator. To explicitly capture the interplay between the hole dynamics and local spin correlations we derive a new formulation of the generalized-tJ model where doped carrier operators are used instead of the original electron operators. This ``doped carrier'' formulation provides a new starting point to address doped spin systems and we use it to develop a new, fully fermionic, mean-field description of doped Mott insulators This mean-field approach reveals a new mechanism for superconductivity, namely spinon-dopon mixing, and we apply it to the tt't''J model as of interest to high-temperature superconductors. In particular, we use model parameters borrowed from band calculations and from fitting ARPES data to obtain a mean-field phase diagram that reproduces semi-quantitatively that of hole and electron doped cuprates. The mean-field approach hereby presented accounts for the local antiferromagnetic and d-wave superconducting correlations which, we show, provide a rational for the role of t' and t'' in strengthening superconductivity as expected by experiments and other theoretical approaches. As we discuss how t, t' and t'' affect the phase diagram, we also comment on possible scenarios to understand the differences between as-grown and oxygen reduced electron doped samples.

cond-mat.str-el↗
arXiv2005

Photons and electrons as emergent phenomena

Recent advances in condensed matter theory have revealed that new and exotic phases of matter can exist in spin models (or more precisely, local bosonic models) via a simple physical mechanism, known as "string-net condensation." These new phases of matter have the unusual property that their collective excitations are gauge bosons and fermions. In some cases, the collective excitations can behave just like the photons, electrons, gluons, and quarks in our vacuum. This suggests that photons, electrons, and other elementary particles may have a unified origin -- string-net condensation in our vacuum. In addition, the string-net picture indicates how to make artificial photons, artificial electrons, and artificial quarks and gluons in condensed matter systems.

cond-mat.str-el↗
arXiv2005

A dual gravity study of the 2+1D compact U(1) gauge theory coupled with strongly interacting matter fields

We consider the D2-brane probe action in the gravity background dual to N coincident Dp-branes by treating the separation between the D2- and Dp-branes as a nondynamical parameter for $p=2,4,6$. The gauge coupling, the core size of a non-BPS instanton and the mass gap of the compact U(1) gauge theory in the D2-brane are determined as a function of the separation in the type IIA gravity region. The results are interpreted in terms of the 2+1D U(1) gauge theory coupled with the matter fields which are also strongly coupled with the p+1D SU(N) gauge field. It is shown that strong coupling of the matter fields to the SU(N) gauge field can drastically modify their screening of the U(1) gauge field. The non-perturbative dependence of the U(1) gauge coupling on the energy scale is obtained.

hep-th↗
arXiv2005

Pseudogap, Superconducting Energy Scale, and Fermi Arcs in Underdoped Cuprate Superconductors

Through the measurements of magnetic field dependence of specific heat in $La_{2-x}Sr_xCuO_4$ in zero temperature limit, we determined the nodal slope $v_Δ$ of the quasiparticle gap. It is found that $v_Δ$ has a very similar doping dependence of the pseudogap temperature $T^*$ or value $Δ_p$. Meanwhile the virtual maximum gap at ($π,0$) derived from $v_Δ$ is found to follow the simple relation $Δ_q=0.46k_BT^*$ upon changing the doping concentration. This strongly suggests a close relationship between the pseudogap and superconductivity. It is further found that the superconducting transition temperature is determined by both the residual density of states of the pseudogap phase and the nodal gap slope in the zero temperature limit, namely, $T_c \approx βv_Δγ_n(0)$, where $γ_n(0)$ is the extracted zero temperature value of the normal state specific heat coefficient which is proportional to the size of the residual Fermi arc $k_{arc}$. This manifests that the superconductivity may be formed by forming a new gap on the Fermi arcs near nodes below $T_c$. These observations mimic the key predictions of the SU(2) slave boson theory based on the general resonating-valence-bond (RVB) picture.

cond-mat.supr-con↗
arXiv2005

New mean field theory of the tt't''J model applied to the high-Tc superconductors

We introduce a new mean field approach to the tt't''J model that incorporates both electron-like quasiparticle and spinon excitations as suggested by some experiments and numerical studies. It leads to a mean field phase diagram which is consistent with that of hole and electron doped cuprates. Moreover, it provides a framework to describe the observed evolution of the electron spectral function from the undoped insulator to the overdoped Fermi metal for both hole and electron doping. The theory also provides a new non-BCS mechanism leading to superconductivity.

cond-mat.supr-con↗
arXiv2005

Quasi-adiabatic Continuation of Quantum States: The Stability of Topological Ground State Degeneracy and Emergent Gauge Invariance

We define for quantum many-body systems a quasi-adiabatic continuation of quantum states. The continuation is valid when the Hamiltonian has a gap, or else has a sufficiently small low-energy density of states, and thus is away from a quantum phase transition. This continuation takes local operators into local operators, while approximately preserving the ground state expectation values. We apply this continuation to the problem of gauge theories coupled to matter, and propose a new distinction, perimeter law versus "zero law" to identify confinement. We also apply the continuation to local bosonic models with emergent gauge theories. We show that local gauge invariance is topological and cannot be broken by any local perturbations in the bosonic models in either continuous or discrete gauge groups. We show that the ground state degeneracy in emergent discrete gauge theories is a robust property of the bosonic model, and we argue that the robustness of local gauge invariance in the continuous case protects the gapless gauge boson.

cond-mat.str-el↗
arXiv2005

Pseudogap, Superconducting Gap, and Fermi Arcs in Underdoped Cuprate Superconductors

Through the measurements of magnetic field dependence of specific heat in $La_{2-x}Sr_xCuO_4$ in zero temperature limit, we find that the nodal slope $v_Δ$ of the superconducting gap has a very similar doping dependence of the pseudogap temperature $T^*$ or value $Δ_p$. Meanwhile the maximum quasiparticle gap derived from $v_Δ$ is quite close to $T^*$. Both indicate a close relationship between the pseudogap and superconductivity. It is also found that $T_c \approx βv_Δγ_n(0)$, where $γ_n(0)$ is the extracted zero temperature value of the normal state specific heat coefficient which is proportional to the size of the residual Fermi arc $k_{arc}$. These observations mimic the key predictions of the SU(2) slave boson theory based on the general resonating-valence-bond (RVB) picture.

cond-mat.str-el↗
arXiv2004

Doping a Mott Insulator: Physics of High Temperature Superconductivity

This article reviews the effort to understand the physics of high temperature superconductors from the point of view of doping a Mott insulator. The basic electronic structure of the cuprates is reviewed, emphasizing the physics of strong correlation and establishing the model of a doped Mott insulator as a starting point. A variety of experiments are discussed, focusing on the region of the phase diagram close to the Mott insulator (the underdoped region) where the behavior is most anomalous. We introduce Anderson's idea of the resonating valence bond (RVB) and argue that it gives a qualitative account of the data. The importance of phase fluctuation is discussed, leading to a theory of the transition temperature which is driven by phase fluctuation and thermal excitation of quasiparticles. We then describe the numerical method of projected wavefunction which turns out to be a very useful technique to implement the strong correlation constraint, and leads to a number of predictions which are in agreement with experiments. The remainder of the paper deals with an analytic treatment of the t-J model, with the goal of putting the RVB idea on a more formal footing. The slave-boson is introduced to enforce the constraint of no double occupation. The implementation of the local constraint leads naturally to gauge theories. We give a rather thorough discussion of the role of gauge theory in describing the spin liquid phase of the undoped Mott insulator. We next describe the extension of the SU(2) formulation to nonzero doping. We show that inclusion of gauge fluctuation provides a reasonable description of the pseudogap phase.

cond-mat.str-el↗
arXiv2004

On the stability of U(1) spin liquids in two dimensions

We establish that spin liquids described in terms of gapless fermionic (Dirac) spinons and gapless U(1) gauge fluctuations can be stable in two dimensions, at least when the physical SU(2) spin symmetry is generalized to SU(N). Equivalently, we show that compact QED3 has a deconfined phase for a large number of fermion fields, in the sense that monopole fluctuations can be irrelevant at low energies. A precise characterization is provided by an emergent global topological U(1) symmetry corresponding to the conservation of gauge flux. Beginning with an SU(N) generalization of the S=1/2 square lattice Heisenberg antiferromagnet, we consider the pi-flux spin liquid and, via a systematic analysis of all operators, show that there are NO relevant perturbations (in the renormalization group sense) about the large-N spin liquid fixed point, which is thus a stable phase. We provide a further illustration of this conclusion with an approximate renormalization group calculation that treats the gapless fermions and the monopoles on an equal footing. This approach directly points out some of the flaws in the erroneous "screening" argument for the relevance of monopoles in compact QED3.

cond-mat.str-el↗
arXiv2004

String-net condensation: A physical mechanism for topological phases

We show that quantum systems of extended objects naturally give rise to a large class of exotic phases - namely topological phases. These phases occur when the extended objects, called ``string-nets'', become highly fluctuating and condense. We derive exactly soluble Hamiltonians for 2D local bosonic models whose ground states are string-net condensed states. Those ground states correspond to 2D parity invariant topological phases. These models reveal the mathematical framework underlying topological phases: tensor category theory. One of the Hamiltonians - a spin-1/2 system on the honeycomb lattice - is a simple theoretical realization of a fault tolerant quantum computer. The higher dimensional case also yields an interesting result: we find that 3D string-net condensation naturally gives rise to both emergent gauge bosons and emergent fermions. Thus, string-net condensation provides a mechanism for unifying gauge bosons and fermions in 3 and higher dimensions.

cond-mat.str-el↗
arXiv2003

Possible Z2 phase and spin-charge separation in electron doped cuprate superconductors

The SU(2) slave-boson mean-field theory for the tt'J model is analyzed. The role of next-nearest-neighbor hopping t' on the phase-diagram is studied. We find a pseudogap phase in hole-doped materials (where t'<0). The pseudo-gap phase is a U(1) spin liquid (the staggered-flux phase) with a U(1) gauge interaction and no fractionalization. This agrees with experiments on hole doped samples. The same calculation also indicates that a positive t' favors a Z2 state with true spin-charge separation. The Z2 state that exists when t' > 0.5J can be a candidate for the pseudo-gap phase of electron-doped cuprates (if such a phase exists). The experimental situation in electron-doped materials is also addressed.

cond-mat.str-el↗
arXiv2003

Fermions, strings, and gauge fields in lattice spin models

We investigate the general properties of lattice spin models with emerging fermionic excitations. We argue that fermions always come in pairs and their creation operator always has a string-like structure with the newly created particles appearing at the endpoints of the string. The physical implication of this structure is that the fermions always couple to a nontrivial gauge field. We present exactly soluble examples of this phenomenon in 2 and 3 dimensions. Our analysis is based on an algebraic formula that relates the statistics of a lattice particle to the properties of its hopping operators. This approach has the advantage that it works in any number of dimensions - unlike the flux-binding picture developed in FQH theory.

cond-mat.str-el↗
arXiv2003

Quantum Orders and Spin Liquids in Cs$_2$CuCl$_4$

Motivated by experiments on Cs$_2$CuCl$_4$ samples, we studied and classified the symmetric spin liquids on triangular lattice. We identified 63 $Z_2$ spin liquids, 30 U(1) spin liquids and 2 SU(2) spin liquids. All those spin liquids have the same symmetry but different quantum orders. We calculated the spin spectral functions in some simple spin liquids and compared them to the one measured by experiments on Cs$_2$CuCl$_4$. We find that the $U1Cτ_{+}^0τ_{-}^0τ^1$ spin liquid or one of its relatives is consistent with observed properties of the spin liquid state in Cs$_2$CuCl$_4$. We discussed the fine distinctions among those possible spin liquids and the spin liquids proposed using slave-fermion approach, so that future experiments can determine which spin liquids actually describe the spin state in Cs$_2$CuCl$_4$.

cond-mat.str-el↗