Mott gap collapse in the cuprates -- apparent or real?

by Prof. R.S. Markiewicz

Thursday 28 May 2009, 16:00 → 18:00 Europe/Rome

Aula 5 (Dipartimento di Fisica - Ed. E. Fermi)

We have recently introduced a model self-energy for the cuprates, which includes an antiferromagnetic (AFM) transition dressed by spin and charge fluctuations. This model correctly reproduces many `strong coupling' features in the angle-resolved photoemission (ARPES) and optical spectra, including the waterfall effect and the doping dependence of the optical Mott gap. Here we demonstrate a dichotomy between Slater and Mott physics in the cuprates, with a Slater-like AFM gap collapse with doping in the coherent bands while the Mott-like gap persists in the incoherent bands. By measuring the spectral weights in both experiments, we find that there is an anomalous spectral weight transfer which is much too large to be consistent with strong coupling physics, but which is well-described by our intermediate coupling model. We also clarify the origin of this result.