Possible “room temperature” superconductivity observed, with caveats

Arxiv paper[1] reports on possible superconductivity of silver nanoparticles embedded in a gold matrix. The authors were looking for a non-phonon (sound waves) mediated mechanism of superconductivity. In this case, they were looking specifically at plasmon mediated systems.

This is not without a significant helping of controversy though[2]. First, the noise signals in susceptibility appear to be identical between runs with different magnetic field intensities. Second, the thin film and pellet form appear to provide similar responses in susceptibility measurement, which one would not normally expect. Third, the team have not yet shared their samples with other labs, allowing for independent measurement.

Several researchers have pointed out that there could be specific issues with sample preparation which could provide a clue to the noise similarity in the susceptibility measurements.

The controversial aspect of this is found to a degree on the tweet stream linked below. We should be skeptical of the claims until clearly and independently replicated or found to be in error. The burden of proof is upon the discoverers.

[1] https://arxiv.org/abs/1807.08572

[2] https://twitter.com/gravity_levity/status/1027717419400392705