  We present a simple modification of the standard U(1) slave boson
construction for the single band t-J model which accounts for two-particle
bound states of spinons and holons. This construction naturally gives rise to
fractionalized Fermi liquid ground states, featuring small, hole-like pocket
Fermi surfaces with an anisotropic quasiparticle weight in the absence of
broken symmetries. In a specific parameter regime our approach maps the square
lattice t-J model to a generalized quantum dimer model, which was introduced as
a toy model for the metallic pseudogap phase in hole-doped cuprates in [PNAS
112,9552-9557 (2015)]. Our slave boson construction captures essential features
of the nodal-antinodal dichotomy and straightforwardly describes sharp, Fermi
arc-like features in the electron spectral function. Moreover, it allows to
study quantum phase transitions between fractionalized Fermi liquid phases and
superconductors or ordinary Fermi liquids.
