Electron spectral functions in a quantum dimer model for topological metals

We study single electron spectral functions in a quantum dimer model introduced by Punk, Allais and Sachdev (Ref. [1]). The Hilbert space of this model is spanned by hard-core coverings of the square lattice with two types of dimers: ordinary bosonic spin-singlets, as well as fermionic dimers carrying charge +e and spin 1/2, which can be viewed as bound-states of spinons and holons in a doped resonating valence bond (RVB) liquid. This model realizes a metallic phase with topological order and captures several properties of the pseudogap phase in hole-doped cuprates, such as a reconstructed Fermi surface with small hole-pockets and a highly anisotropic quasiparticle residue in the absence of any broken symmetries. Using a combination of exact diagonalization and analytical methods we compute electron spectral functions and show that this model indeed exhibits a sizeable antinodal pseudogap, with a momentum dependence deviating from a simple d-wave form, in accordance with experiments on underdoped cuprates.Comment: 13 pages, 7 figure

Topological Transitions for Lattice Bosons in a Magnetic Field

We study the Hall response of the Bose-Hubbard model subjected to a magnetic field. We show that the Hall conductivity is proportional to the particle density plus an integer. The phase diagram is intersected by topological transitions between different integer values. These transitions originate from points in the phase diagram with effective charge conjugation symmetry, and are attributed to degeneracies in the many body spectrum which serve as sources for the Berry curvature. We find that extensive regions in the phase diagram exhibit a negative Hall conductivity, implying that flux flow is reversed in these regions - vortices there flow upstream. We discuss experimental implications of our findings.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figure