Quasiparticle collapsing in an anisotropic t − J ladder

Quasiparticle collapsing is a central issue in the study of strongly correlated electron systems. In the one-dimensional case, the quasiparticle collapsing in a form of spin-charge separation has been well established, but the problem remains elusive in dimensions higher than one. By using the density matrix renormalization group (DMRG) algorithm, we show that in an anisotropic two-leg t-J ladder, an injected single hole behaves like a well-defined quasiparticle in the strong rung limit but undergoes a "phase transition" with the effective mass diverging at a quantum critical point (QCP) towards the isotropic limit. After the transition, the quasiparticle collapses into a loosely bound object of a charge (holon) and a spin-1/2 (spinon) accompanied by an unscreened phase string as well as a substantially enhanced binding energy between two doped holes. A phase diagram of multileg ladders is further obtained, which extrapolates the QCP towards the two-dimensional limit. The underlying mechanism generic for any dimensions is also discussed.