NEWS & VIEWS SupeRCONducTIVITY Beyond convention For high-temperature superconductors, results from more refined experiments on better-quality samples are issuing fresh challenges to theorists. It could be that a new state of matter is at play, with unconventional excitations. Didier Poilblanc antiferromagnetic insulator changes to as a function of an applied magnetic is in the Laboratoire de Physique Théorique, a superconductor — two very distinct field) in the magnetic-field-induced CNRS and Université Paul Sabatier, F-31062 states of matter. Their theory aims, in normal phase5, a fingerprint of small Toulouse, France. particular, to reconcile two seemingly closed Fermi surfaces named ‘pockets’. e-mail:
[email protected] conflicting experimental observations. A valid theoretical description should Angular-resolved photoemission then account simultaneously for the lthough copper-oxide spectroscopy (ARPES) provides a unique destruction of the Fermi surface seen superconductors share with experimental set-up to map the locus in ARPES and for the SdH quantum A conventional superconductors of the zero-energy quasiparticles in oscillations. It should also explain the the remarkable property of offering no momentum space. Instead of showing a apparent violation of the Luttinger resistance to the flow of electricity, their large Fermi surface as most metals would, sum rule, the observed area of the SdH characteristic critical temperatures (Tc) above Tc low-carrier-density cuprates pockets being significantly smaller than below which this happens can be as show enigmatic ‘Fermi arcs’ — small the doping level (in appropriate units). high as 135 K. In fact, these materials disconnected segments in momentum A key feature of Kaul and colleagues’ belong to the emerging class of so-called space that continuously evolve into nodal theory1 is the emergence of a fractional strongly correlated systems — a class of points at Tc (ref.