Sharp signature of a dx2-y2 quantum critical point in the Hall coefficient of cuprate superconductors -: art. no. 277003

We study the behavior of the Hall coefficient, R-H, in a system exhibiting d(x)(2)-y(2) density-wave order in a regime in which the carrier concentration, x, is tuned to approach a quantum critical point at which the order is destroyed. At the mean-field level, we find that n(Hall)=1/R-H evinces a sharp signature of the transition. There is a kink in n(Hall) at the critical value of the carrier concentration, x(c); as the critical point is approached from the ordered side, the slope of n(Hall) diverges. Hall transport experiments in the cuprates, at high magnetic fields sufficient to destroy superconductivity, should reveal this effect.