Is the onset of high-temperature superconductivity associated with a dimensional crossover?

Angle-resolved ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopy (ARUPS) from high-T(c) superconductors shows an effective-mass renormalization and intense quasiparticle peaks close to the Fermi energy E(F), which change dramatically with temperature as T(c) is crossed. They are attributed to many-body effects, but their precise nature has been controversial until now. We find very similar spectral fingerprints, even with a similar temperature dependence albeit with much higher critical temperature, in a quasi-one-dimensional Br/Pt surface compound. The striking parallels support an interpretation based on spin-charge separation and are consistent with a dimensional crossover taking place at T(c).