Theory of high energy features in angle-resolved photo-emission spectra of hole-doped cuprates

TL;DR

This paper presents a theoretical explanation for high-energy features observed in angle-resolved photoemission spectra of hole-doped cuprates, linking them to strong correlation effects in the t-J model.

Contribution

It introduces a mean field theory approach that captures the high-energy spectral features as a consequence of strong correlations and band interference in the t-J model.

Findings

Reproduces the breakup and reappearance of nodal quasiparticle dispersion.

Explains the waterfall-like feature in energy-momentum space.

Connects spectral features to the lower Hubbard band and Fermi level.

Abstract

The recent angle-resolved photoemission measurements performed up to binding energies of the order of 1eV reveals a very robust feature: the nodal quasi-particle dispersion breaks up around 0.3-0.4eV and reappears around 0.6-0.8eV. The intensity map in the energy-momentum space shows a waterfall like feature between these two energy scales. We argue and numerically demonstrate that these experimental features follow naturally from the strong correlation effects built in the familiar t-J model, and reflect the connection between the fermi level and the lower Hubbard band. The results were obtained by a mean field theory that effectively projects electrons by quantum interference between two bands of fermions instead of binding slave particles.