Emergent superconductivity

This month, a Focus issue highlights recent developments in fundamental research on superconductivity.

The breakdown of superconductivity is described as a reduction in the amplitude of the order parameter or a breakdown in phase coherence of Cooper pairs. This Review Article highlights recent results that show both mechanisms may be at play simultaneously.

Pairs of electrons can form above the superconducting critical temperature. The authors review the similarities and differences in this phenomenology in copper-based superconductors and oxide heterostructures.

Hybrid devices of superconductors and semiconductor nanowires may be topological and host majorana. This Perspective summarizes the current situation of the field, and highlights the developments in materials science required to make progress.

The identification of superconductivity and strong interactions in twisted bilayer 2D materials prompted many questions about the interplay of these phenomena. This Perspective presents the status of the field and the urgent issues for future study.