Fine structure of chiral symmetry breaking in the $QED_3$ theory of underdoped high-$T_c$ superconductors

TL;DR

This paper investigates how irrelevant perturbations influence chiral symmetry breaking in the effective QED_3 model of the superconductor-insulator transition in underdoped cuprates, highlighting the dominance of spin density wave states.

Contribution

It analyzes the impact of leading irrelevant perturbations on chiral symmetry breaking in QED_3, considering anisotropy and interactions, identifying the spin density wave as the lowest energy state.

Findings

Spin density wave is the most energetically favorable insulating state.

Velocity anisotropy and interactions significantly affect symmetry breaking.

Irrelevant perturbations can be classified by their engineering dimensions.

Abstract

We study the effects of the leading irrelevant perturbations on chiral symmetry breaking in the effective $QED_3$ theory of d-wave superconductor-insulator transition in underdoped cuprates. For weak symmetry breaking, the effect of a perturbation on energies of various insulating states can be classified according to its engineering dimension in the maximally symmetric theory. Considering the velocity anisotropy, repulsive interactions, and higher order derivatives we show that the insulating state with the lowest energy is the spin density wave.