Contrasting Pathways to Mott Gap Collapse in Electron and Hole Doped Cuprates

Recent ARPES measurements on the electron-doped cuprate Nd_{2-x}Ce_xCuO_4 can be interpreted in a mean field model of uniform doping of an antiferromagnet, with the Mott gap closing near optimal doping. Mode coupling calculations confirm the mean field results, while clarifying the relation between the Mott gap and short-range magnetic order. The same calculations find that hole doped cuprates should follow a strikingly different doping dependence, involving instability toward spiral phases or stripes. Nevertheless, the magnetic order (now associated with stripes) again collapses near optimal doping.