$p$-orbital density wave with $d$ symmetry in high-$T_c$ cuprate superconductors predicted by the renormalization-group + constrained RPA theory

TL;DR

This paper predicts a $p$-orbital-density-wave with $d$ symmetry in high-$T_c$ cuprates using advanced renormalization-group and RPA methods, revealing its microscopic origin linked to spin fluctuations and vertex corrections.

Contribution

It introduces a systematic, unbiased approach to identify the $p$-orbital-density-wave instability in cuprates, highlighting the role of vertex corrections near quantum criticality.

Findings

Discovery of $p$-ODW instability with $d$-symmetry

Correlation between spin susceptibility and density wave susceptibility

Identification of Aslamazov-Larkin vertex correction as main driver

Abstract

The discovery of the charge-density-wave formation in the high-$T_c$ cuprate superconductors has activated intensive theoretical studies for the pseudogap states. However, the microscopic origin of the charge-density-wave state has been unknown so far since the many-body effects beyond the mean-field-level approximations, called the vertex corrections, are essential. Toward solving this problem, we employ the recently developed functional renormalization-group method, by which we can calculate the higher-order vertex corrections in a systematic and unbiased way with high numerical accuracy. We discover the critical development of the $p$-orbital-density-wave ($p$-ODW) instability in the strong-spin-fluctuation region. The obtained $p$-ODW state possesses the key characteristics of the charge ordering pattern in Bi- and Y-based superconductors, such as the wave vector parallel to the nearest Cu-Cu direction, and the $d$-symmetry form factor with the antiphase correlation between $p_x$ and $p_y$ orbitals in the same unit cell. In addition, from the observation of the beautiful scaling relation between the spin susceptibility and the $p$-ODW susceptibility, we conclude that the main driving force of the density wave is the Aslamazov-Larkin vertex correction that becomes very singular near the magnetic quantum-critical point.