Effective gauge field theory of the t-J model in the charge-spin separated state and its transport properties

Abstract

We study the slave-boson t-J model of cuprates with high superconducting transition temperatures, and derive its low-energy effective field theory for the charge-spin separated state in a self-consistent manner. The phase degrees of freedom of the mean field for hoppings of holons and spinons can be regarded as a U(1) gauge field, $A_i$. The charge-spin separation occurs below certain temperature, $T_{\rm CSS}$, as a deconfinement phenomenon of the dynamics of $A_i$. Below certain temperature $T_{\rm SG} (< T_{\rm CSS})$, the spin-gap phase develops as the Higgs phase of the gauge-field dynamics, and $A_i$ acquires a mass $m_A$. The effective field theory near $T_{\rm SG}$ takes the form of Ginzburg-Landau theory of a complex scalar field $λ$ coupled with $A_i$, where $λ$ represents d-wave pairings of spinons. Three dimensionality of the system is crucial to realize a phase transition at $T_{\rm SG}$. By using this field theory, we calculate the dc resistivity $ρ$. At $T > T_{\rm SG}$, $ρ$ is proportional to $T$. At $T < T_{\rm SG}$, it deviates downward from the $T$-linear behavior as $ρ\propto T \{1 -c(T_{\rm SG}-T)^d \}$. When the system is near (but not) two dimensional, due to the compactness of the phase of the field $λ$, the exponent $d$ deviates from its mean-field value 1/2 and becomes a nonuniversal quantity which depends on temperature and doping. This significantly improves the comparison with the experimental data.