Beyond the Fermi Liquid Paradigm: Hidden Fermi Liquids

An intense investigation of possible non-Fermi liquid states of matter has been inspired by two of the most intriguing phenomena discovered in the past quarter century, namely high temperature superconductivity and the fractional quantum Hall effect. Despite enormous conceptual strides, these two fields have developed largely along separate paths. Two widely employed theories are the resonating valence bond theory for high temperature superconductivity and the composite fermion theory for the fractional quantum Hall effect. The goal of this “perspective” article is to note that they subscribe to a common underlying paradigm: they both connect these exotic quantum liquids to certain ordinary Fermi liquids residing in unphysical Hilbert spaces. Such a relation yields numerous nontrivial experimental consequences, exposing these theories to rigorous and definitive tests.