Effective charge of a deconfined slave particle: Comment on ``Confinement of Slave Particles in U(1) Gauge Theories of Strongly Interacting Electrons''

Abstract

I reexamine the Nayak's criticism [Phys. Rev. Lett. 85, 178 (2000); 86, 943 (2001).] on the U(1) gauge theory approach to the strongly correlated systems. Contrary to his conclusion, the arbitrariness of the charge assignment observed by him does not contradict the possibility of a deconfinement. Should the deconfinement occur, the deconfined slave particle carries an effective fractional charge, which is independent of the arbitrary assignment but is rather determined dynamically.