Spectral function of a single hole in a two-dimensional quantum antiferromagnet

The spectral function of a single hole moving in a two-dimensional antiferromagnetic background is calculated, using the self-consistent Born approximation for the self-energy. For small systems, good agreement is found with the results of exact diagonalization studies. In the thermodynamic limit, the quasiparticle residue, the effective mass, and the incoherent multiple spin-wave background are determined as functions of the ratio of Heisenberg exchange J and hopping amplitude t. The relevance of the single-hole results to the physical problem of a finite hole concentration is briefly discussed.