Hidden Magnetic Order Emerges at the Pseudogap Edge
Physicists used ultracold lithium atoms to simulate the Fermi-Hubbard model in an optical lattice and observed that magnetic correlations persist in a disordered-like regime near the pseudogap, following a single universal pattern tied to a temperature scale similar to the pseudogap temperature. They also detected extended magnetic polarons across many lattice sites, quantified a new 'polaron strength,' and measured high-order spin–charge correlations up to fifth order, indicating the pseudogap hosts complex, multi-particle quantum order that could connect magnetism to high-temperature superconductivity—though some model predictions diverged at higher doping.