Optical Conductivity of a t--J Ladder

The optical conductivity $\sigma(\omega )$ of a doped two-leg t--J ladder is calculated for an electric field polarized parallel to the legs of the ladder. The conductivity has a Drude weight proportional to the hole doping and an apparent threshold for absorption (a pseudo gap) which may be associated with the energy to break a pair. This pseudogap in $\sigma (\omega )$ is present even though the pairs have a modified $d_{x^2-y^2}$-like wave function because the geometry of the ladder leads to quasi-particle states which probe the gap along an antinode.