Vertical and Diagonal Stripes in the Extended Hubbard Model

We extend previous real-space Hartree-Fock studies of static stripe stability to determine the phase diagram of the Hubbard model with anisotropic nearest-neighbor hopping t, by varying the on-site Coulomb repulsion U and investigating locally stable structures for representative hole doping levels x=1/8 and x=1/6. We also report the changes in stability of these stripes in the extended Hubbard model due to next-neighbor hopping t' and to a nearest-neighbor Coulomb interaction V.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure

Planckian dissipation, minimal viscosity and the transport in cuprate strange metals

Could it be that the matter from the electrons in high Tc superconductors is of a radically new kind that may be called "many body entangled compressible quantum matter"? Much of this text is intended as an easy to read tutorial, explaining recent theoretical advances that have been unfolding at the cross roads of condensed matter- and string theory, black hole physics as well as quantum information theory. These developments suggest that the physics of such matter may be governed by surprisingly simple principles. My real objective is to present an experimental strategy to test critically whether these principles are actually at work, revolving around the famous linear resistivity characterizing the strange metal phase. The theory suggests a very simple explanation of this "unreasonably simple" behavior that is actually directly linked to remarkable results from the study of the quark gluon plasma formed at the heavy ion colliders: the "fast hydrodynamization" and the "minimal viscosity". This leads to high quality predictions for experiment: the momentum relaxation rate governing the resistivity relates directly to the electronic entropy, while at low temperatures the electron fluid should become unviscous to a degree that turbulent flows can develop even on the nanometre scale.Comment: 23 pages, no figures. Submission to SciPos

Stripe fractionalization II: the quantum spin nematic and the Abrikosov lattice

In part (I) of this two paper series on stripe fractionalization, we argued that in principle the `domain wall-ness' of the stripe phase could persist in the spin and charge disordered superconductors, and we demonstrated how this physics is in one-to-one correspondence with Ising gauge theory. Here we focus on yet another type of order suggested by the gauge theory: the quantum spin nematic. Although it is not easy to measure this order directly, we argue that the superconducting vortices act as perturbations destroying the gauge symmetry locally. This turns out to give rise to a simple example of a gauge-theoretical phenomenon known as topological interaction. As a consequence, at any finite vortex density a globally ordered antiferromagnet emerges. This offers a potential explanation for recent observations in the underdoped 214 system

Half-filled stripes in the t-t'-U Hubbard model

Using a self-consistent Hartree-Fock approximation we investigate the relative stability of various stripe phases in the extended $t$-$t'$-$U$ Hubbard model. One finds that a negative ratio of next- to nearest-neighbor hopping $t'/t<0$ expells holes from antiferromagnetic domains and reinforces the stripe order. Therefore the half-filled stripes not only accommodate holes but also redistribute them so that the kinetic energy is gained, and these stripes take over in the regime of $t'/t\simeq -0.3$ appropriate for YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{6+\delta}$.Comment: Accepted for publication in Phys. Stat. So

Dynamical stripe correlations and the spin fluctuations in cuprate superconductors

It is conjectured that the anomalous spin dynamics observed in the normal state of cuprate superconductors might find its origin in a nearly ordered spin system which is kept in motion by thermally meandering charged domain walls. `Temperature sets the scale' finds a natural explanation, while a crossover to a low temperature quantum domain wall fluid is implied.Comment: 3 pages Revtex. To appear in Physica

Stripe fractionalization I: the generation of Ising local symmetry

This is part one in a series of two papers dedicated to the notion that the destruction of the topological order associated with stripe phases is about the simplest theory controlled by local symmetry: Ising gauge theory. This first part is intended to be a tutorial- we will exploit the simple physics of the stripes to vividly display the mathematical beauty of the gauge theory. Stripes, as they occur in the cuprates, are clearly `topological' in the sense that the lines of charges are at the same time domain walls in the antiferromagnet. Imagine that the stripes quantum melt so that all what seems to be around is a singlet superconductor. What if this domain wall-ness is still around in a delocalized form? This turns out to be exactly the kind of `matter' which is described by the Ising gauge theory. The highlight of the theory is the confinement phenomenon, meaning that when the domain wall-ness gives up it will do so in a meat-and-potato phase transition. We suggest that this transition might be the one responsible for the quantum criticality in the cuprates. In part two, we will become more practical, arguing that another phase is possible according to the theory. It might be that this quantum spin-nematic has already been observed in strongly underdoped LSCO