Charge modulation, spin response, and dual Hofstadter butterfly in high-Tc cuprates

TL;DR

This paper explores how charge density waves of Cooper pairs in underdoped cuprates relate to Hofstadter physics, revealing their subtle effects on nodal fermions and proposing experiments to probe spin coupling.

Contribution

It introduces a dual superconductor framework to explain CPCDW formation and its connection to Hofstadter problems, highlighting minimal impact on nodal fermions and suggesting experimental probes.

Findings

CPCDW results from phase fluctuations enhanced by Mott-Hubbard correlations.

CPCDW does not significantly affect nodal fermions at leading order.

Proposes an experiment to detect coupling between CPCDW and nodal quasiparticle spins.

Abstract

The modulated density of states observed in recent STM experiments in underdoped cuprates is argued to be a manifestation of the charge density wave of Cooper pairs (CPCDW). CPCDW formation is due to superconducting phase fluctuations enhanced by Mott-Hubbard correlations near half-filling. The physics behind the CPCDW is related to a Hofstadter problem in a dual superconductor. It is shown that CPCDW does not impact nodal fermions at the leading order. An experiment is proposed to probe coupling of the CPCDW to the spin carried by nodal quasiparticles.