Topological order, emergent gauge fields, and Fermi surface reconstruction

TL;DR

This paper explores topological order, emergent gauge fields, and Fermi surface reconstruction in quantum lattice models, applying these concepts to the Hubbard model and cuprate pseudogap phases, revealing new metallic states without symmetry breaking.

Contribution

It introduces a framework connecting topological order and gauge theories to Fermi surface reconstruction in strongly correlated systems, with novel insights into the pseudogap phase.

Findings

Identification of topological order in Hubbard model states

Reconstructed Fermi surfaces with deconfined gauge fields

Application to pseudogap phase of cuprates

Abstract

We begin with an introduction to topological order using Wegner's quantum $Z_2$ gauge theory on the square lattice: the topological state is characterized by the expulsion of defects, carrying $Z_2$ magnetic flux. The interplay between topological order and the breaking of global symmetry is described by the non-zero temperature statistical mechanics of classical XY models in dimension $D=3$; such models also describe the zero temperature quantum phases of bosons with short-range interactions on the square lattice at integer filling. The topological state is again characterized by the expulsion of certain defects, in a state with fluctuating symmetry-breaking order, along with the presence of emergent gauge fields. The phase diagrams of the $Z_2$ gauge theory and the XY models are obtained by embedding them in U(1) gauge theories, and by studying their Higgs and confining phases. These ideas are then applied to the single-band Hubbard model on the square lattice. A SU(2) gauge theory describes the fluctuations of spin-density-wave order, and its phase diagram is presented by analogy to the XY models. We obtain a class of zero temperature metallic states with fluctuating spin-density wave order, topological order associated with defect expulsion, deconfined emergent gauge fields, reconstructed Fermi surfaces (with `chargon' or electron-like quasiparticles), but no broken symmetry. We conclude with the application of such metallic states to the pseudogap phase of the cuprates, and note the recent comparison with numerical studies of the Hubbard model and photoemission observations of the electron-doped cuprates. In a detour, we also discuss the influence of Berry phases, and how they can lead to deconfined quantum critical points: this applies to bosons on the square lattice at half-integer filling, and to quantum dimer models.