Fermi Arcs in a Doped Pseudospin-1/2 Heisenberg Antiferromagnet

TL;DR

This study observes Fermi arcs in doped Sr2IrO4, a non-cuprate material, revealing similar electronic behavior to cuprates and providing insights into high-temperature superconductivity.

Contribution

It demonstrates the emergence of Fermi arcs in Sr2IrO4 upon doping, establishing it as a model system for studying cuprate-like electronic states.

Findings

Fermi arcs appear in doped Sr2IrO4

Fermi surface evolves with doping and temperature

Electronic state resembles that of cuprates

Abstract

High temperature superconductivity in cuprates arises from an electronic state that remains poorly understood. We report the observation of a related electronic state in a non-cuprate material Sr2IrO4 in which the unique cuprate Fermiology is largely reproduced. Upon surface electron doping through in situ deposition of alkali-metal atoms, angle-resolved photoemission spectra of Sr2IrO4 display disconnected segments of zero-energy states, known as Fermi arcs, and a gap as large as 80 meV. Its evolution toward a normal metal phase with a closed Fermi surface as a function of doping and temperature parallels that in the cuprates. Our result suggests that Sr2IrO4 is a useful model system for comparison to the cuprates.