Parallels Between Quantum Antiferromagnetism and the Strong Interactions

Abstract

I argue that there is a connection between quantum antiferromagnetism and the strong interactions. The underlying idea is that the t-J Hamiltonian and other models commonly studied in the context of cuprate superconductivity are near a quantum critical point at which quark-like objects and gauge fields with which they interact become the true elementary excitations at low energy scales. Away from the critical point these bind at low energy into familiar collective modes of various ordered states. As evidence I cite the ``semiconducting'' behavior of the f-sum rule at low doping, large-scale structure in the electron propagator, disappearance of the quasiparticle pole at small values of J/t, string resonances above the quasiparticle pole, and the physical similarity of the alleged quark-like objects to the spinon and holon excitations of 1-dimensional spin-1/2 antiferromagnets.