The underdoped cuprates have a number of interesting and unusual properties that often seem hard to reconcile with one another. In this paper we show how many of these diverse phenomena can be synthesized into a single coherent theoretical picture. Specifically we present a description where a pseudogap and gapless Fermi arcs exist in the normal state above the superconducting transition temperature $\left(T_c\right)$ but give way to the observed quantum oscillations and other phenomena at low temperature when the superconductivity is suppressed by a magnetic field. We show the consistency between these phenomena and observations of enhanced Nernst and diamagnetic signals above $T_c$. We also develop a description of the vortex core inside the superconducting state and discuss its relation with the high-field phenomena.

• Received 14 March 2009

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.79.245116