  The motion of a single hole in a Mott antiferromagnet is investigated based
on the t-J model. An exact expression of the energy spectrum is obtained, in
which the irreparable phase string effect [Phys. Rev. Lett. 77, 5102 (1996)] is
explicitly present. By identifying the phase string effect with spin backflow,
we point out that spin-charge separation must exist in such a system: the doped
hole has to decay into a neutral spinon and a spinless holon, together with the
phase string. We show that while the spinon remains coherent, the holon motion
is deterred by the phase string, resulting in its localization in space. We
calculate the electron spectral function which explains the line shape of the
spectral function as well as the ``quasiparticle'' spectrum observed in
angle-resolved photoemission experiments. Other analytic and numerical
approaches are discussed based on the present framework.
