Cuprates - An Overview

This is a very good review article on the theoretical aspects of the high-Tc cuprate superconductors, and why it is such a complex system that a single accepted theoretical description still evades us after 20 years of its discovery. I actually had a chuckle when I read the end passage of the article:

Regardless, magnetic correlations definitely play a prominent role in the entire doping range superconductivity is observed . Whether this means RVB, spin fluctuations, orbital currents, or some combination thereof, such magnetic correlations are the likely source of d-wave pairing. But building a rigorous strong coupling theory has certainly proven to be a challenge. Perhaps ideas from string theory and black hole physics will help in this regard. But then again, perhaps not!

Ooooh boy! :)

Zz.