Giant Nernst effect in the pseudogap phase of high Tc superconductors

We have investigated theoretically the Nernst effect in unconventional (d-wave) charge and spin density waves (UDW). In the presence of magnetic field, Landau levels are formed, and the gapless behaviour of the low energy excitations change into gapped behaviour. When additional electric field is applied, the quasiparticles drift with a velocity of E × B/B2, and carry entropy. From this, the Nernst coefficient can be calculated using the Kelvin relation. The present results account very nicely for the measured Nernst signal in the pseudogap phase of high Tc superconductor La2−xSrxCuO4 and Bi2Sr2−yLayCuO6. This indicates that the large Nernst effect is a clear signiture of UDW.