Beyond triplet: Unconventional superconductivity in a spin-3/2 topological semimetal.

In all known fermionic superfluids, Cooper pairs are composed of spin-1/2 quasi-particles that pair to form either spin-singlet or spin-triplet bound states. The "spin" of a Bloch electron, however, is fixed by the symmetries of the crystal and the atomic orbitals from which it is derived and, in some cases, can behave as if it were a spin-3/2 particle. The superconducting state of such a system allows pairing beyond spin-triplet, with higher spin quasi-particles combining to form quintet or septet pairs.