We report about the energy and momentum dependent charge response in Ca${}_{1.9}$Na${}_{0.1}$CuO${}_2$Cl${}_2$ employing electron energy-loss spectroscopy. Along the diagonal of the Brillouin zone (BZ) we find a plasmon peak—indicating the presence of metallic states in this momentum region—which emerges as a consequence of substantial spectral-weight transfer from excitations across the charge-transfer (CT) gap and is the two-particle manifestation of the small Fermi pocket or arc observed with photoemission in this part of the BZ. In contrast, the spectrum along the $\left[100\right]$ direction is almost entirely dominated by CT excitations, reminiscent of the insulating parent compound. We argue that the observed polarization dependent shape of the spectrum is suggestive of a breaking of the underlying tetragonal lattice symmetry, possibly due to fluctuating nematic order in the charge channel. In addition we find the plasmon bandwidth to be suppressed compared to optimally doped cuprates.

• Received 21 September 2012

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.86.245112