Pseudogap and charge dynamics in doped cuprates

Highlights: •We provide a natural explanation to the charge dynamics in doped cuprates. •We reproduce qualitatively some main features of the optical conductivity. •The unusual conductivity in the underdoped regime is related to the pseudogap. •The low-energy Drude behavior recovers in the heavily overdoped regime. -- Abstract: Within the microscopic theory of the normal-state pseudogap state, the doping and temperature dependence of the charge dynamics in doped cuprates is studied in the whole doping range from the underdoped to heavily overdoped. The conductivity spectrum in the underdoped and optimally doped regimes contains the low-energy non-Drude peak and unusual midinfrared band. However, the position of the midinfrared band shifts towards to the low-energy non-Drude peak with increasing doping. In particular, the low-energy non-Drude peak incorporates with the midinfrared band in the heavily overdoped regime, and then the low-energy Drude behavior recovers. It is shown that the striking behavior of the low-energy non-Drude peak and unusual midinfrared band in the underdoped and optimally doped regimes is closely related to the emergence of the doping and temperature dependence of the normal-state pseudogap