  We present a variational Monte Carlo (VMC) study of spontaneous Fermi surface
symmetry breaking in the t-J model. We find that the variational energy of a
Gutzwiller projected Fermi sea is lowered by allowing for a finite asymmetry
between the x- and the y-directions. However, the best variational state
remains a pure superconducting state with d-wave symmetry, as long as the
underlying lattice is isotropic. Our VMC results are in good overall agreement
with slave boson mean field theory (SBMFT) and renormalized mean field theory
(RMFT), although apparent discrepancies do show up in the half-filled limit,
revealing some limitations of mean field theories. VMC and complementary RMFT
calculations also confirm the SBMFT predictions that many-body interactions can
enhance any anisotropy in the underlying crystal lattice. Thus, our results may
be of consequence for the description of strongly correlated superconductors
with an anisotropic lattice structure.
