Collective excitations in unconventional charge-density wave systems

The excitation spectrum of the t-J model is studied on a square lattice in the large $N$ limit in a doping range where a $d$-$density$-$wave$ (DDW) forms below a transition temperature $T^\star$. Characteristic features of the DDW ground state are circulating currents which fluctuate above and condense into a staggered flux state below $T^\star$ and density fluctuations where the electron and the hole are localized at different sites. General expressions for the density response are given both above and below $T^\star$ and applied to Raman, X-ray, and neutron scattering. Numerical results show that the density response is mainly collective in nature consisting of broad, dispersive structures which transform into well-defined peaks mainly at small momentum transfers. One way to detect these excitations is by inelastic neutron scattering at small momentum transfers where the cross section (typically a few per cents of that for spin scattering) is substantially enhanced, exhibits a strong dependence on the direction of the transferred momentum and a well-pronounced peak somewhat below twice the DDW gap. Scattering from the DDW-induced Bragg peak is found to be weaker by two orders of magnitude compared with the momentum-integrated inelastic part.

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