Collapse of the Mott gap and emergence of a nodal liquid in lightly doped Sr2IrO4 – in PRL

We report an ARPES study on the doping evolution of the Heisenberg antiferromagnet Sr2IrO4, a close analogue to underdoped cuprates (Phys. Rev. Lett. 115, 176402 (2015)).

Superconductivity in underdoped cuprates emerges from an unusual electronic state characterised by nodal quasiparticles and an antinodal pseudo gap. The relation between this state and superconductivity is intensely studied but remains controversial. The discrimination between competing theoretical models is hindered by a lack of electronic structure data from related doped Mott insulators. In Sr2IrO4 we find that metallicity emerges from a rapid collapse of the Mott gap with doping, resulting in lens-like Fermi contours rather than disconnected Fermi arcs as observed in cuprates. Intriguingly though, the emerging electron liquid shows nodal quasiparticles with an antinodal pseudogap and thus bares strong similarities with underdoped cuprates. We conclude that anisotropic pseudogaps are a generic property of two-dimensional doped Mott insulators rather than a unique hallmark of cuprate high-temperature superconductivity.