V. J. Emery and P. W. Anderson's views and related issues regarding the basics of cuprates: a re-look

TL;DR

This paper revisits key debates on the theoretical modeling of cuprates, affirming Emery's critique of the one-band model and highlighting experimental features that challenge simplified models of high-temperature superconductors.

Contribution

The paper provides a comprehensive review and re-evaluation of longstanding debates on cuprate models, supporting Emery's criticism and introducing a toy model to illustrate core issues.

Findings

Emery's criticism of the Zhang-Rice reduction is validated.

Many experimental features of cuprates are incompatible with the one-band model.

A simple toy model is proposed to clarify core issues.

Abstract

In 1991, V. J. Emery in his important review article entitled "Some aspects of the theory of high temperature superconductors"\cite{emery1} argued against the Zhang-Rice reduction of three-band to an effective one-band model. In his words "...therefore it seems that the simple $t-J$ model does not account for the properties of high temperature superconductors". Over approximately 35 years after the initial debates\cite{debates} much has happened in the field pertaining to this topic. Even though it is one of the most discussed issue, a comprehensive account and the required resolution are lacking. Connected to the debate over one-band versus three-band models is another discussion: the one-component versus two-component model for cuprates. The two-component model is most strongly advocated by Barzykin and Pines\cite{bp}. In this article the author attempts a perspective and a re-look on some of these issues. After an analysis of a large body of literature, author finds that V. J. Emery's criticism of the Zhang-Rice reduction was correct. Many central experimental features of cuprates cannot be rationalized within the one-band model, and Johnston-Nakano scaling is one such example. Other examples are also discussed. Author introduces a simple-minded toy model to illustrate the core issues involved.