Theory of cuprate pseudogap as antiferromagnetic order with charged domain walls

Abstract

While magnetic fields generally compete with superconductivity, a type II superconductor can persist to very high fields by confining the field within the topological defects, namely the vortices. We propose that a similar physics underlies the pseudogap phase in the cuprates, where the relevant topological defects—antiphase domain walls of an underlying antiferromagnetic (AFM) order—confine the excess charges. A key consequence of this scenario is that the termination of the pseudogap phase should be captured accurately by the underlying AFM model. We demonstrate that this picture can explain a number of key experimentally observed signatures of the pseudogap phase and how it collapses in the cuprates. Gap inhomogeneity is found to be necessary to produce the characteristic Fermi arcs.

Source-reported materials — not catalogue approval

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