Temperature dependent Fermi arcs in the normal state of the underdoped cuprate superconductors

Abstract

Angle-resolved photoemission experiments by Kanigel [Nat. Phys. 2, 447 (2006)] have made a remarkable observation that low-energy electronic excitations in the normal state of underdoped cuprate superconductors exist on open "Fermi arcs" instead of a closed Fermi surface. These arcs shrink upon cooling, with the arclength appearing to extrapolate to nodal points at zero temperature. We show that this striking non-Fermi-liquid behavior could result from the underdoped normal state above Tc lying in the vicinity of a quantum phase transition between a d -wave superconductor and a correlated insulating phase. © 2007 The American Physical Society.