Effective theory of fluctuating orbital currents in high-Tc cuprate superconductors

We derive an effective dissipative quantum field theory for fluctuating orbital currents in clean CuO(2) sheets of high-T(c) cuprates based on a three-band model. The Coulomb repulsion term between Cu and O sites is decoupled in terms of current operators representing horizontal and vertical parts of circulating currents within each CuO(2) unit cell of the lattice. The model has ordering of currents at finite temperatures. The dissipative kernel in the model is of the form vertical bar omega vertical bar/vertical bar q vertical bar, indicating Landau damping. Applications of the effective theory to other models are also discussed.