Gauge field theory of transport and magnetic relaxation in underdoped cuprates

TL;DR

This paper develops a gauge field theory model to explain the transport and magnetic relaxation behaviors in underdoped cuprates, highlighting the role of spin gaps and gauge fluctuations in their crossover from metallic to insulating states.

Contribution

It introduces a U(1)xSU(2) Chern-Simons gauge field framework to interpret experimental phenomena in underdoped cuprates, emphasizing the interplay of spin gaps and gauge fluctuations.

Findings

Crossover from metallic to insulating conductivity with decreasing temperature.

Magnetic relaxation rate exhibits a maximum near a characteristic temperature.

Different crossover temperatures are unified as manifestations of a single energy scale.

Abstract

Based on recently proposed U(1)xSU(2) Chern-Simons gauge field theory, an interpretation of the transport and magnetic relaxation properties of underdoped cuprates is proposed, taking into account the short range antiferromagnetic order. The interplay of the doping-dependent spin gap (explicitly derived by us) effect and dissipation due to gauge fluctuations gives rise to a crossover from metallic to insulating behavior of conductivity as temperature decreases, in semi-quantitative agreement with experimental data. For the same reason the magnetic relaxation rate shows a maximum nearby. Various crossover temperatures related to spin gap effects are shown to be different manifestations of the same energy scale.