Spectral kinks and mid-infrared optical conductivity of doped Mott insulators from strong electron correlations

We compute the one-particle spectral function and the optical conductivity for the two-dimensional Hubbard model on a square lattice. The computational method is cellular dynamical mean-field theory in which a four-site Hubbard plaquette is embedded in a self-consistent bath. We obtain a ``kink'' feature in the dispersion of the spectral function and a mid-infrared (mid-IR) absorption peak in the optical conductivity, consistent with experimental data. Of the 256 plaquette states, only a single state which has d_x²-y² symmetry contributes to the mid-IR, thereby suggesting a direct link with the pseudogap. Local correlations between doubly and singly occupied sites which lower the kinetic energy of a hole are the efficient cause of this effect.