Gutzwiller-projected wave functions for the pseudogap state of underdoped high-temperature superconductors

TL;DR

This paper introduces Gutzwiller-projected wave functions to model the pseudogap state in underdoped high-temperature cuprate superconductors, capturing Fermi surface reconstruction and multiple Fermi pockets observed experimentally.

Contribution

It proposes a novel wave-function approach to describe the two-fluid state and competing phases in underdoped cuprates, emphasizing the role of spin fluctuations in pseudogap formation.

Findings

Wave functions capture Fermi surface reconstruction

Pseudogap state energetically favored by spin fluctuations

Two-fluid model explains multiple Fermi pockets

Abstract

Recent experiments strongly suggest that a Fermi surface reconstruction and multiple Fermi pockets are important common features of the underdoped high-temperature cuprate superconductors. A related theoretical work [Phys. Rev. B 79, 134512 (2009)] has demonstrated that a number of hallmark phenomena observed in the underdoped cuprates appear naturally in the scenario of a paired electron pocket co-existing with unpaired hole pockets. We propose Gutzwiller-projected wave-functions to describe this two-fluid state as well as two competing states in its vicinity. It is argued that a pseudogap state constructed from these wave-functions may be selected by energetics at finite temperatures due to spin fluctuations.