Over 20 years since the discovery of high temperature superconductivity in cuprates (Bednorz and Müller, 1986 [1]), the first convincing observation of quantum oscillations in underdoped YBa2Cu3O6.5 (Doiron-Leyraud et al., 2007 [2]) has deeply changed the theoretical landscape relevant to these materials. The Fermi surface is a basic concept of solid state physics, which underpins most physical properties (electrical, thermal, optical, etc.) of a metal. Even in the presence of interactions, this fundamental concept remains robust.

Measurements of quantum oscillations in the cuprate superconductors afford an opportunity to assess the extent to which their electronic properties yield to a description rooted in Fermi-liquid theory. However, such an analysis is hampered by the small number of oscillatory periods observed in the accessible magnetic field range. Here we employ a genetic algorithm to globally model the field, angular and temperature dependence of the quantum oscillations observed in the resistivity of YBa 2 Cu 3 O 6.59 .

The Hall coefficient RH of the cuprate superconductor YBa 2Cu3Oy was measured in magnetic fields up to 60 T for a hole concentration p from 0.078 to 0.152 in the underdoped regime. In fields large enough to suppress superconductivity, RH(T) is seen to go from positive at high temperature to negative at low temperature, for p0.08. This change of sign is attributed to the emergence of an electron pocket in the Fermi surface at low temperature. At p<0.08, the normal-state R H(T) remains positive at all temperatures, increasing monotonically as T→0.

We have studied the microwave electrodynamics of single-crystal iron-based superconductors Ba0.72 K0.28 Fe2 As2 (hole doped, Tc30K) and Ba (Fe0.95 Co0.05) 2 As2 (electron doped, Tc20K), by cavity perturbation and broadband spectroscopy. Meissner curves were used to confirm the quality and homogeneity of the samples under study. Through cavity perturbation techniques, the temperature dependence of the in-plane London penetration depth Δλ (T), and therefore the superfluid phase stiffness λ2 (0) / λ2 (T) was measured.

The Seebeck and Nernst coefficients S and ν of the cuprate superconductor YBa2Cu3Oy (YBCO) were measured in a single crystal with doping p=0.12 in magnetic fields up to H=28T. Down to T=9 K, ν becomes independent of field by H 30T, showing that superconducting fluctuations have become negligible. In this field-induced normal state, S/T and ν/T are both large and negative in the T→0 limit, with the magnitude and sign of S/T consistent with the small electronlike Fermi surface pocket detected previously by quantum oscillations and the Hall effect.

The nature of the pseudogap phase is a central problem in the effort to understand the high-transition-temperature (high-Tc) copper oxide superconductors. A fundamental question is what symmetries are broken when the pseudogap phase sets in, which occurs when the temperature decreases below a value T*. There is evidence from measurements of both polarized neutron diffraction and the polar Kerr effect that time-reversal symmetry is broken, but at temperatures that differ significantly from one another.