High-temperature superconductivity and strange metallicity: Simple observations with (possibly) profound implications

Abstract

Bednorz and Müller's discovery of superconductivity in the cuprate perovskite La2-xBaxCuO4 gave the modern condensed matter community arguably two of its greatest gifts – high-temperature superconductivity and strange metallicity; certainly two of its most profound and challenging problem. While it was the multi-fold increase in Tc that rightly catapulted cuprates to the summit of global media attention and scientific curiosity, it is the nature of their normal (non-superconducting) state that has sustained interest over the intervening years. This in turn has inspired condensed-matter experimentalists and theoreticians to revolutionise their respective fields. Yet despite such boundary-pushing endeavors, the origin of both phenomena remains elusive. In this brief note, I offer a personal reflection on the link between strange metallicity and high-Tc superconductivity, highlighting a number of simple observations that may hold profound implications for their ultimate resolution.