Transport phenomenology for a holon-spinon fluid

TL;DR

This paper introduces a two-fluid model of spinons and holons to explain the normal-state transport phenomena in cuprate superconductors, linking resistivity, Hall effect, and photoemission linewidths to the properties of these quasiparticles.

Contribution

It presents a novel two-fluid framework that accounts for various transport properties and predicts temperature-dependent linewidth behavior in cuprates.

Findings

Resistivity is governed by holons.

Hall transport time measures electron lifetime.

Linewidth increases with temperature in photoemission.

Abstract

We propose that the normal-state transport in the cuprate superconductors can be understood in terms of a two-fluid model of spinons and holons. In our scenario, the resistivity is determined by the properties of the holons while magnetotransport involves the recombination of holons and spinons to form physical electrons. Our model implies that the Hall transport time is a measure of the electron lifetime, which is shorter than the longitudinal transport time. This agrees with our analysis of the normal-state data. We predict a strong increase in linewidth with increasing temperature in photoemission. Our model also suggests that the AC Hall effect is controlled by the transport time.