Abstract
The spectral function of high-temperature superconductors in the underdoped and lightly-doped regions is calculated in order to explain the Fermi arc spectra observed recently by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. We take into account the tilting of CuO octahedra as well as the on-site Coulomb repulsive interaction; the tilted octahedra induce the staggered transfer integral between px,y orbitals and Cu t2g orbitals and bring about nontrivial effects of spin–orbit coupling for the d electrons in the CuO plane. The spectral weight shows a peak at around (π⁄2,π⁄2) for light doping and extends around this point forming an arc as the carrier density increases, where the spectra for light doping grow continuously to be the spectra in the optimally doped region. This behavior significantly agrees with that of the angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy spectra. Furthermore, the spin–orbit term and staggered transfer effectively induce a flux state, a pseudo-gap with time-reversal symmetry breaking. We have a nodal metallic state in the light-doping case since the pseudogap has a dx2−y2 symmetry.
