Credit: Image courtesy of Nature Communications 5, 4453 (2014)
Resonant inelastic x-ray scattering data show the existence of a new quasiparticle in strontium iridate. The quasiparticle (QP) signature is clearly observed (between the dotted lines in the image) at energies above the magnetic excitation (magnon) spectrum, providing potential new insights into the mechanism of high-temperature superconductivity in structurally and electronically related cuprate superconductors.