Fermi arcs in a doped pseudospin-1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnet

Abstract

High-temperature superconductivity in cuprates arises from an electronic state that remains poorly understood. We report the observation of a related electronic state in a noncuprate material, strontium iridate (Sr2IrO4), in which the distinct cuprate fermiology is largely reproduced. Upon surface electron doping through in situ deposition of alkali-metal atoms, angle-resolved photoemission spectra of Sr2IrO4 display disconnected segments of zero-energy states, known as Fermi arcs, and a gap as large as 80 millielectron volts. Its evolution toward a normal metal phase with a closed Fermi surface as a function of doping and temperature parallels that in the cuprates. Our result suggests that Sr2IrO4 is a useful model system for comparison to the cuprates