c-axis conductivity in the normal state of cuprate superconductors

Abstract

The c-axis optical conductivity and d.c. resistivity are calculated within the t-J model assuming that the interlayer hopping is incoherent. Use is made of numerical results for spectral functions recently obtained with the finite-temperature Lanczos method for finite two-dimensional systems. In the optimally doped regime we find an anomalous relaxation rate, suggesting a common relaxation mechanism for intra- and interlayer transport. At low doping a pseudo-gap opening in the density of states appears to be responsible for a semimetallic-like behavior of d.c. resistivity.