Intertwined-orders single-gap conjecture in cuprates

Evaluate whether superconducting pairing and other local electronic orders in cuprate superconductors are intertwined so that they combine to produce a single energy gap, and determine conditions under which such intertwining manifests.

Background

After presenting evidence that excludes a purely local-order origin of the pseudogap, the authors emphasize that their results do not rule out contributions from both pairing and local order. They reference a broader conjecture in the field that multiple orders in cuprates might be intertwined, forming a unified gap.

This conjecture motivates further investigation into how pairing might coexist or merge with other orders (e.g., charge density waves, pair-density waves) to produce the observed spectroscopic gap features.