Proposed measurements of the interlayer magnetoresistance of underdoped cuprate superconductors can distinguish closed pockets from open arcs in the Fermi surface

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An outstanding question concerning the underdoped cuprate concerns the true nature of their Fermi surface which appears as a set of disconnected arcs. Theoretical models have proposed two distinct possibilities: (1) each arc is the observable part of a partially-hidden closed pocket, and (2) each arc is open, truncated at its apparent ends. We show that measurements of the variation of the interlayer resistance with the direction of a magnetic field parallel to the layers can qualitatively distinguish closed pockets from open arcs. This is possible because the field can be oriented such that all electrons on arcs encounter a large Lorentz force and resulting magnetoresistance whereas some electrons on pockets escape the effect by moving parallel to the field.