https://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. The circular photogalvanic effect (CPGE), a phenomenon that generates helicity-dependent photocurrents in noncentrosymmetric materials, can originate purely from a crystal's internal structure without a contribution from the surface, a study from Science Tokyo reveals. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-mirror-image-crystals-reverse-driven.html Nanophysics Fri, 02 Oct 2026 14:40:12 EDT news710157781 Magnetic properties in molecular materials depend not only on the molecular components themselves but also on their solid-state organization. In charged π-electronic systems, electrostatic and dispersion forces can organize molecules into distinct ion-pairing structures. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-counteranions-reshape-molecular-tune-magnetism.html Analytical Chemistry Thu, 01 Oct 2026 19:40:01 EDT news710086621 To build the ultrafast computers of the future, scientists are looking beyond the electrical charge of electrons to another property: their spin. While conventional hardware relies on the movement of charge to process data, tapping into this intrinsic quantum property could enable researchers to reinvent how information travels through a circuit. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-experimental-evidence-altermagnetism-layered-material.html Condensed Matter Mon, 28 Sep 2026 18:10:01 EDT news709834861 For the first time, researchers have directly imaged the magnetization dynamics inside a spin Hall nano-oscillator—a nanoscale device that converts direct current into tunable microwave signals and is a promising building block for energy-efficient wireless communication and brain-inspired computing. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-nano-oscillator-imaged.html Nanophysics Wed, 23 Sep 2026 12:20:10 EDT news709380362 A research team led by Professor Jung-Il Hong of the Department of Physics and Chemistry at DGIST has successfully used current pulses to alter the spin configuration within a ferrimagnetic material, lowering its "compensation temperature"—the temperature at which opposing magnetizations cancel each other out—by up to approximately 110 K. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-electrical-method-tunes-magnetic-properties.html Condensed Matter Tue, 22 Sep 2026 13:40:04 EDT news709298566 Multiferroics are materials that simultaneously exhibit two or more ferroic orders—stable arrangements of physical properties that can be switched using an external stimulus. These materials could be highly advantageous for the development of various technologies, including non-volatile, low-power memory devices, spintronic devices, miniaturized electronics, neuromorphic hardware, sensors and magnetoelectric devices. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-stacked-2d-materials-reveal-room.html Condensed Matter Fri, 18 Sep 2026 09:20:02 EDT news708775129 Researchers at the Center for Research in Biological Chemistry and Molecular Materials (CiQUS) at the Universidade de Santiago de Compostela (USC) have developed a new strategy for producing covalent organic frameworks (COFs) with semiconducting properties without relying on chemical doping. The approach could open new avenues for developing materials for applications in electronics and energy storage. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-neutral-radicals-porous-semiconductors-chemical.html Materials Science Mon, 14 Sep 2026 15:20:08 EDT news708617221 (Fe0.63Ni0.3Pd0.07)3P, or FNPP, is a magnetic material that exhibits complex magnetic structures even at room temperature. This makes the material of interest for spintronics, a field that could enable data processing with significantly lower energy consumption. One potential application is novel magnetic memory devices. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-3d-magnetic-field-reveals-tune.html Condensed Matter Wed, 09 Sep 2026 15:40:02 EDT news708173941 Topological quantum materials combine unusual electronic states with properties such as magnetism or superconductivity, offering possibilities for future electronics and quantum technologies. Researchers at Tohoku University have now shown that changing the number of layers in a crystal can provide a systematic way to design topological magnets. The work is published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-layer-based-route-topological-magnets.html Condensed Matter Wed, 09 Sep 2026 12:20:02 EDT news708166549 Researchers at Nagoya University have built a graphene nanoribbon that can switch the direction of its twist using a natural solvent. Graphene nanoribbons are thin, ribbon-shaped structures made of fused carbon rings. Twisted or helical versions of these ribbons show promise for advanced light and electronic devices. However, until now, no graphene nanoribbon could switch its twist on demand. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-switchable-graphene-nanoribbon-demand.html Nanomaterials Thu, 03 Sep 2026 13:00:03 EDT news707651882 Using an engineered metasurface that traps light, Cornell researchers have demonstrated a new way to generate strong static magnetic fields without using external magnets or magnetic materials—an approach that could advance spintronics, quantum and photonic computing, and data storage. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-generates-nanoscale-magnetization.html Condensed Matter Wed, 02 Sep 2026 18:40:01 EDT news707583061 Spin-orbit coupling (SOC), an interaction between an electron's spin and its motion, plays a key role in creating topological insulators—unusual materials that are insulating in their interior but can conduct electricity along their surfaces. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-temperature-emerges-topological-properties-materials.html General Physics Wed, 02 Sep 2026 07:49:22 EDT news707554042 Electrons, particles that carry a negative electric charge, typically move through materials. At low densities and temperatures, however, the electrical repulsion between them can overpower their tendency to move, prompting them to arrange themselves into ordered patterns known as Wigner crystals. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-reveals-internal-motion-electron-crystals.html Condensed Matter Fri, 28 Aug 2026 09:00:03 EDT news706964413 Diffusion is a fundamental natural phenomenon that can be observed across a wide range of length and time scales. It plays a key role in many fields, including physics, biology and economics. In particular, asymmetric or directional diffusion of particle systems has attracted growing interest for practical applications, including the development of unconventional artificial intelligence (AI) hardware, where it could enable nonlinear, geometry-controlled information processing. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-simulations-reveal-asymmetric-diffusion-magnetic.html Condensed Matter Tue, 25 Aug 2026 15:20:01 EDT news706877941 Researchers from the University of Osaka have developed a new class of chiral semiconducting polymers that can generate highly spin-polarized electrical currents. The team's unique molecular design allows the polymers to self-assemble into helical structures that efficiently filter electron spins, offering a promising platform for future spintronic devices and clean-energy technologies. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-kind-polymer-electron.html Polymers Thu, 20 Aug 2026 14:20:04 EDT news706446002 Close to a phase transition, very different materials can follow the same mathematical rules. The concept of universality, which groups seemingly distinct systems based on their common properties, was developed to describe this phenomenon. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-range-magnetic-interactions-ferrimagnet-approaches.html General Physics Tue, 18 Aug 2026 10:20:01 EDT news706264082 Researchers at Rice University have found that gently squeezing a crystal of iron sulfide can change two of its unusual properties at the same time: its tiny magnetic signal and the way electricity moves through it. The result gives scientists a clearer picture of how a newly recognized class of magnetic materials works and suggests a simple way to control their behavior. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-small-reveals-clues-unusual-kind.html Condensed Matter Sun, 16 Aug 2026 14:40:01 EDT news705895000 Time-reversal symmetry is an exotic behavior found in systems whose internal physics looks different when running forward versus backward in time. For some time, physicists have searched for this behavior in systems with almost no overall magnetization. Such phases are highly prized for spintronics, where information is carried using the quantum spins of electrons. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-strain-flips-hall-altermagnetic-manganese.html Condensed Matter Sun, 16 Aug 2026 12:00:04 EDT news705839192 New research introduces a contactless way to see how mirror-image materials respond differently to circularly polarized light, without first building them into a complete electronic device. The researchers developed a novel method based on light-induced charge separation that allows researchers to directly probe how the material's structure acts like a microscopic filter, influencing how electrons separate and move. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-contactless-method-reveals-mirror-image.html Condensed Matter Tue, 11 Aug 2026 16:20:04 EDT news705670261 Skyrmions—essentially magnetic vortices—represent a promising approach in spintronics; in the future, they could serve as components in storage media or computers, potentially complementing established CMOS technologies. Researchers at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) have now visualized the interaction of antiferromagnetic skyrmions for the first time and shown that antiferromagnetic skyrmions move reproducibly along straight trajectories aligned with the driving electric current. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-real-reveal-antiferromagnetic-skyrmions-line.html Condensed Matter Mon, 10 Aug 2026 12:00:03 EDT news705581582 Magnetic storage technologies, which store information in the direction of magnetization, play an essential role in modern data storage. Hard disk drives (HDDs) are widely used for long-term storage, while nonvolatile magnetic random-access memory (MRAM) is emerging as a promising alternative to flash memory. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-50c-ultrathin-magnetic-stays-flat.html Nanomaterials Fri, 07 Aug 2026 12:40:07 EDT news705316862 Chiral phonons are groups of atoms that move in a circular direction when excited by an energy source, such as heat. As the phonons move through a material, they propagate that circular motion, or angular momentum, through the material. The angular momentum serves as the source of spin, and the chirality dictates the direction of the spin, enabling spin control in spintronics. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-electric-field-reverses-phonon-chirality.html Condensed Matter Wed, 05 Aug 2026 15:00:06 EDT news705151382 Ruthenium dioxide (RuO2) is a metal oxide that commonly serves as an important metallic conductor, quantum material and industrial electrocatalyst. While there have been debates surrounding the magnetic properties of RuO2, it is generally thought to be nonmagnetic in its bulk form. But now, a new study, published in Science Advances, has found that very thin layers of RuO2 can become magnetic when its lattice is placed under strain. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-unusual-metal-oxide-magnetism-lattice.html Condensed Matter Sat, 01 Aug 2026 14:40:01 EDT news704715788 Quantum fluctuations influence direction-dependent electrical transport in chiral magnets, researchers from Science Tokyo report. In chiral magnetic systems, electric current flows differently depending on its direction, but the role of quantum effects in this behavior has remained unclear. Through theoretical analysis, the researchers showed that chiral magnetic systems exhibit logarithmic temperature dependence at low temperatures, offering new insights into electron transport in magnetic materials. These findings are expected to play a crucial role in spintronics. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-quantum-effects-electrical-chiral-magnets.html Condensed Matter Thu, 30 Jul 2026 17:30:01 EDT news704648701 Spin waves (SWs), or magnons, are collective excitations of magnetization in magnetic materials arising from electron spins. They have attracted considerable attention as information carriers and have shown promise in logic circuits, memory devices and physical neural networks. Among the emerging platforms for manipulating SWs are magnonic crystals (MCs), engineered magnetic materials with periodic structures designed to control magnon propagation. These periodic structures give rise to magnonic band structures and mode profiles, much like semiconductor crystals control electron transport. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-inverse-2d-magnonic-crystals-widen.html Nanophysics Tue, 28 Jul 2026 17:00:07 EDT news704470382 A new study published in Nature Physics reports the first direct experimental evidence of a Floquet topological state, a novel light-induced phase of matter that, until now, has existed only on paper and in simulations. Topological insulators can conduct electricity along their surface while remaining insulating throughout their bulk. Physicists have spent years developing Floquet engineering, a technique that uses intense, rapidly oscillating light fields to temporarily reshape a material's electronic structure. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-physicists-capture-evidence-floquet-topological.html Condensed Matter Mon, 27 Jul 2026 08:00:01 EDT news704113591 One of Europe's highest distinctions in condensed matter physics has been awarded for a discovery that is reshaping our understanding of magnetism: The 2026 Europhysics Prize of the European Physical Society (EPS) Condensed Matter Division goes to Professor Jairo Sinova of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU), Dr. Libor Šmejkal and Professor Tomas Jungwirth for their discovery of altermagnetism—a previously unknown fundamental class of magnetism. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-prize-honors-discovery-altermagnetism-fundamental.html Condensed Matter Fri, 24 Jul 2026 23:00:01 EDT news704119959 In most everyday materials, such as copper, silver and silicon, the behavior of electrons is relatively predictable. In quantum materials, however, electrons can interact in complex ways, giving rise to collective electronic states with remarkable properties. Understanding how these states emerge—and, ultimately, how to control them—is one of the central challenges in quantum materials research. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-striped-checkered-magnetic-field-electronic.html Condensed Matter Thu, 23 Jul 2026 05:00:10 EDT news703933441 Artificial intelligence faces an energy crisis stemming from a physical traffic jam inside modern computer chips. Processors must continually shuffle data, such as the billions of parameters in complex models, between separate computing and memory nodes. This traffic jam, known as the "von Neumann bottleneck," hinders the speed and energy efficiency of advanced processors. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-quantum-microscope-illuminates-transistor.html Condensed Matter Tue, 21 Jul 2026 16:20:11 EDT news703858561 Quantum technologies promise revolutionary advances in computing, sensing and information processing. However, controlling individual quantum bits (qubits) at the atomic scale remains a major challenge because conventional approaches rely on magnetic fields, which are difficult to confine to a single molecule. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-scientists-electrical-molecule-quantum-states.html Quantum Physics Thu, 16 Jul 2026 09:30:03 EDT news703407599