Common origin of the pseudogap in electron-doped and hole-doped cuprates governed by Mott physics

The pseudogap phenomena have been a long-standing mystery of the cuprate high-temperature superconductors. Unlike the pseudogap in hole-doped cuprates, however, the pseudogap in the electron-doped counterpart has been attributed to band folding due to short-range antiferromagnetic (AFM) order. We performed angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy measurements on electron-doped cuprates showing spin-glass and disordered AFM behaviors at low temperatures, and found that the gap magnitude \textit{decreases} in the antinodal region contrary to the hole-doped case. Moreover, the gap opening position was not always on the AFM Brillouin zone boundary in contradiction with the requirement of the AFM band-folding picture. These features are consistent with cluster dynamical-mean-field-theory calculations which predict an $s$-symmetry pseudogap that shrinks in the andinodal region. The present results support the scenario that the proximity to the Mott insulator, without relying on the well-developed AFM correlation, gives rise to a momentum-dependent pseudogap of $s$-symmetry with indirect gap commonly in the electron-doped and hole-doped cuprates, implying a universal origin of the pseudogap with a similarity to the Mott gap formation.