Vertex corrections in antiferromagnetic spin fluctuation theories

Abstract

We calculate the first vertex correction $\delta\Lambda_{\bf k}$ to the bare vertex $\Lambda_\circ$ in the nearly antiferromagnetic spin fluctuation Fermi liquid theory of the cuprate superconductor ${\rm YBa_2Cu_3O_7}$. It is calculated for $\bf k$ on the Fermi surface, and ${\bf Q}=(\pm {\pi\over a}, \pm {\pi\over a})$. We find that the dimensionless ratio $|\delta\Lambda_{\bf k}|/\Lambda_\circ$, which parametrizes the vertex correction, is not small. It is a maximum for ${\bf k=k_h}$, where ${\bf k_h}$ is a ``hot spot'' on the Fermi surface. This makes large quantitative corrections to the theory.