Spectral functions of Sr2IrO4: theory versus experiment

Benjamin Lenz (1) , Cyril Martins (2, 3) , Silke Biermann (1, 4)

1 CPHT - Centre de Physique Théorique [Palaiseau]
2 SEM - Systèmes étendus et magnétisme (LCPQ)
3 LCPQ - Laboratoire de Chimie et Physique Quantiques
4 Collège de France - Chaire Physique de la matière condensée (A. Georges)

The spin–orbit Mott insulator Sr2IrO4 has attracted a lot of interest in recent years from theory and experiment due to its close connection to isostructural high-temperature copper oxide superconductors. Despite not being superconductive, its spectral features closely resemble those of the cuprates, including Fermi surface and pseudogap properties. In this article, we review and extend recent work in the theoretical description of the spectral function of pure and electron-doped Sr2IrO4 based on a cluster extension of dynamical mean-field theory ('oriented-cluster DMFT') and compare it to available angle-resolved photoemission data. Current theories provide surprisingly good agreement for pure and electron-doped Sr2IrO4, both in the paramagnetic and antiferromagnetic phases. Most notably, one obtains simple explanations for the experimentally observed steep feature around the M point and the pseudo-gap-like spectral feature in electron-doped Sr2IrO4.

Mots clés: iridate; electronic structure; spectral function; spin-orbit coupling; dynamical mean field theory

Domaines: Electrons fortement corrélés [cond-mat.str-el]

Benjamin Lenz, Cyril Martins, Silke Biermann. Spectral functions of Sr2IrO4: theory versus experiment. Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter, 2019, 31 (29), pp.293001. ⟨10.1088/1361-648X/ab146a⟩. ⟨hal-02133866⟩