Current-current correlations in the three-band model for two-leg CuO ladders

We study current-current correlations in the three-band Hubbard model for two-leg CuO ladders using the density-matrix renormalization group method. We find that these correlations decrease exponentially with distance for low doping but as a power law for higher doping. Their pattern is compatible with the circulating current (CC) phase which Varma has proposed to explain the pseudo-gaped metallic phase in underdoped high-temperature superconductors. However, for model parameters leading to a realistic ground state in the undoped ladder, the current fluctuations decay faster than the d-wave-like pairing correlations in the doped state. Thus we conclude that no phase with CC order or dominant CC fluctuations occur in the three-band model of two-leg CuO ladders.