Pseudogap and electronic structure of electron-doped Sr₂IrO₄

We present [1] a theoretical investigation of the effects of correlations on the electronic structure of the Mott insulator Sr₂IrO₄ upon electron doping. A rapid collapse of the Mott gap upon doping is found, and the electronic structure displays a strong momentum-space differentiation at low doping level: The Fermi surface consists of pockets centered around (π/2,π/2), while a pseudogap opens near (π,0). Its physical origin is shown to be related to short-range spin correlations. The pseudogap closes upon increasing doping, but a differentiated regime characterized by a modulation of the spectral intensity along the Fermi surface persists to higher doping levels. These results, obtained within the cellular dynamical mean-field-theory framework, are discussed in comparison to recent photoemission experiments and an overall good agreement is found.
[1] A. Moutenet, A. Georges, M. Ferrero, Phys. Rev. B 97, 155109 (2018)