Exact diagonalization study of optical conductivity in two-dimensional Hubbard model

The optical conductivity \sigma(\omega) in the two-dimensional Hubbard model is examined by applying the exact diagonalization technique to small square clusters with periodic boundary conditions up to \sqrt{20} X \sqrt{20} sites. Spectral-weight distributions at half filling and their doping dependence in the 20-site cluster are found to be similar to those in a \sqrt{18} X \sqrt{18} cluster, but different from 4 X 4 results. The results for the 20-site cluster enable us to perform a systematic study of the doping dependence of the spectral-weight transfer from the region of the Mott-gap excitation to lower-energy regions. We discuss the dependence of the Drude weight and the effective carrier number on the electron density at a large on-site Coulomb interaction.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure

Impact of lithium composition on the thermoelectric properties of the layered cobalt oxide system LixCoO2

Thermoelectric properties of the layered cobalt oxide system LixCoO2 were investigated in a wide range of Li composition, 0.98 >= x >= 0.35. Single-phase bulk samples of LixCoO2 were successfully obtained through electrochemical deintercalation of Li from the pristine LiCoO2 phase. While LixCoO2 with x >= 0.94 is semiconductive, the highly Li-deficient phase (0.75 >= x >= 0.35) exhibits metallic conductivity. The magnitude of Seebeck coefficient at 293 K (S293K) significantly depends on the Li content (x). The S293K value is as large as +70 ~ +100 uV/K for x >= 0.94, and it rapidly decreases from +90 uV/K to +10 uV/K as x is lowered within a Li composition range of 0.75 >= x >= 0.50. This behavior is in sharp contrast to the results of x <= 0.40 for which the S293K value is small and independent of x (+10 uV/K), indicating that a discontinuous change in the thermoelectric characteristics takes place at x = 0.40 ~ 0.50. The unusually large Seebeck coefficient and metallic conductivity are found to coexist in a narrow range of Li composition at about x = 0.75. The coexistence, which leads to an enhanced thermoelectric power factor, may be attributed to unusual electronic structure of the two-dimensional CoO2 block.Comment: 29 pages, 1 table, 8 figure

Exciton doublet in the Mott-Hubbard LiCuVO4_4 insulator identified by spectral ellipsometry

Spectroscopic ellipsometry was used to study the dielectric function of LiCuVO$_{4}$, a compound comprised of chains of edge-sharing CuO$_4$ plaquettes, in the spectral range (0.75 - 6.5) eV at temperatures (7-300) K. For photon polarization along the chains, the data reveal a weak but well-resolved two-peak structure centered at 2.15 and 2.95 eV whose spectral weight is strongly enhanced upon cooling near the magnetic ordering temperature. We identify these features as an exciton doublet in the Mott-Hubbard gap that emerges as a consequence of the Coulomb interaction between electrons on nearest and next-nearest neighbor sites along the chains. Our results and methodology can be used to address the role of the long-range Coulomb repulsion for compounds with doped copper-oxide chains and planes.Comment: 4 pages with 4 figures and EPAPS supplementary online material (3 pages with 4 figures), accepted in Phys. Rev. Let

Doping dependence of chemical potential and entropy in hole- and electron-doped high-Tc cuprates

We examine the thermodynamic properties of the hole- and electron-doped cuprates by using the t-t'-t''-J model. We find that the chemical potential shows different doping dependence between the hole and electron dopings. Recent experimental data of the chemical potential shift are reproduced except for lightly underdoped region in the hole doping where stripe and/or charge inhomogeneity are expected to be important. The entropy is also calculated as a function of the carrier concentration. It is found that the entropy of the electron-doped system is smaller than that of the hole-doped systems. This is related to strong antiferromagnetic short-range correlation that survives in the electron-doped system.Comment: REVTeX4, 3 pages, 3 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev.

Mott gap excitations in twin-free YBa2Cu3O7-d (Tc = 93 K) studied by RIXS

Mott gap excitations in the high-Tc superconductor of the optimal doped YBa2Cu3O7-d (Tc = 93 K) have been studied by the resonant inelastic x-ray scattering method. Anisotropic spectra in the ab-plane are observed in a twin-free crystal. The excitation from the one-dimensional CuO chain is enhanced at 2 eV near the zone boundary of the b* direction, while the excitation from the CuO2 plane is broad at 1.5-4 eV and almost independent of the momentum transfer. Theoretical calculation based on the one-dimensional and two-dimensional Hubbard model reproduces the observed spectra by taking the different parameters of the on-site Coulomb energy. The fact of the Mott gap of the CuO chain site is much smaller than that of CuO2 plane site is observed for the first time

Electronic States in the Antiferromagnetic Phase of Electron-Doped High-Tc Cuprates

We investigate the electronic states in the antiferromagnetic (AF) phase of electron-doped cuprates by using numerically exact diagonalization technique for a t-t'-t''-J model. When AF correlation develops with decreasing temperature, a gaplike behavior emerges in the optical conductivity. Simultaneously, the coherent motion of carriers due to the same sublattice hoppings is enhanced. We propose that the phase is characterized as an AF state with small Fermi surface around the momentum k=(\pi,0) and (0,\pi). This is a remarkable contrast to the behavior of hole-doped cuprates.Comment: RevTeX, 5 pages, 4 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev. B Brief Report

Momentum-resolved charge excitations in high-Tc cuprates studied by resonant inelastic x-ray scattering

We report a Cu K-edge resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS) study of high-Tc cuprates. Momentum-resolved charge excitations in the CuO2 plane are examined from parent Mott insulators to carrier-doped superconductors. The Mott gap excitation in undoped insulators is found to commonly show a larger dispersion along the [pi,pi] direction than the [pi,0] direction. On the other hand, the resonance condition displays material dependence. Upon hole doping, the dispersion of the Mott gap excitation becomes weaker and an intraband excitation appears as a continuum intensity below the gap at the same time. In the case of electron doping, the Mott gap excitation is prominent at the zone center and a dispersive intraband excitation is observed at finite momentum transfer