Variational Monte Carlo simulation in hole-doped cuprate superconductors: Competition between antiferromagnetism and superconductivity

TL;DR

This study uses variational Monte Carlo simulations to explore the competition between antiferromagnetism and superconductivity in hole-doped cuprates, revealing how spin correlations influence phase behavior and electronic structure.

Contribution

It introduces off-site spin correlations into VMC calculations, showing a transition from coexistence to competition between AFM and SC orders in the t-t'-t''-J model.

Findings

AFM and SC orders compete near underdoped regime

Spin-spin correlations suppress coexisting states

Electronic structure changes align with experimental ARPES data

Abstract

We present variational Monte Carlo (VMC) results for the Gutzwiller-projected coexisting state including both antiferromagnetic (AFM) order and superconducting (SC) order in the two-dimensional t-t'-t"-J model. By further considering off-site spin correlation between electrons, in contrast to earlier VMC results [Phys. Rev. Lett. 102, 027002 (2009)], we find the apparent competition between AFM order and SC order near the underdoped regime instead of coexistence. The local ferromagnetic correlation introduced by spin-spin Jastrow correlators seem to be responsible for the disappearance of the coexisting state. We also demonstrate that the quasiparticle spectral weight from upper (lower) AFM band are strongly diminished (enhanced) by the spin-spin correlation. This result obviously leads to the loss of antinodal electron pockets and the appearance of nodal hole pockets as passing from the AFM phase to the SC phase in hole-doped cuprates, which is in consistent with the observation by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy.