With his bold claims of revolutionary room-temperature superconductors, physicist Ranga Dias of the University of Rochester in New York propelled the field of high-pressure physics into the spotlight.
Now, after two paper retractions and plagiarism allegations, there’s a haze of suspicion around Dias, and some physicists are worried that outsiders might suspect that the entire field is in disarray. “The big risk is that this whole thing … sheds a negative light on this field,” says theoretical physicist Lilia Boeri.
But other research on high-temperature superconductors is solid, many researchers say. Multiple groups have replicated key results, and theoretical calculations agree with real-world experiments. Physicists are investigating new classes of superconductors and confirming theoretical predictions. The hope is that such gradual advances will eventually lead scientists to a more practical superconductor.
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