Signature of pseudogap formation in the density of states of underdoped cuprates

The resonating valence bond spin liquid model for the underdoped cuprates has as an essential element, the emergence of a pseudogap. This energy scale introduces asymmetry in the quasiparticle density of states because it is associated with the antiferromagnetic Brillouin zone. By contrast, superconductivity develops on the Fermi surface and this largely restores the particle-hole symmetry for energies below the superconducting energy-gap scale. In the highly underdoped regime, these two scales can be separately identified in the density of states and also partial density of states for each fixed angle in the Brillouin zone. From the total density of states, we find that the pseudogap energy scale manifests itself differently as a function of doping for positive and negative biases. Furthermore, we find evidence from recent scanning tunneling spectroscopy data for asymmetry in the positive and negative biases of the extracted Delta(theta) which is in qualitative agreement with this model. Likewise, the slope of the linear low-energy density of states is nearly constant in the underdoped regime while it increases significantly with overdoping in agreement with the data.