{
  "id": 17224797,
  "title": "Confirming altermagnetism: A geometric twist offers experimental proof",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/30/confirming-altermagnetism-a-geometric-twist-offers-experimental-proof",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-10-30T12:20:01.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Phys.org",
    "slug": "phys-org",
    "url": "https://phys.org/news/2026-10-altermagnetism-geometric-experimental-proof.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In a breakthrough that expands our understanding of magnetism, a team of scientists has provided definitive experimental proof of a previously hypothesized magnetic phase known as altermagnetism. For decades, physicists recognized only two types of magnetism occurring naturally in materials: ferromagnetism, where all magnetic spins align in the same direction, and antiferromagnetism, where adjacent spins point in opposite directions, canceling each other out. However, recent observations suggested the existence of a third magnetic phase that bridges the traits of both ferromagnetism and antiferromagnetism.\n\nLead author Daniel Jost, an associate scientist at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford Institute for Materials and Energy Sciences, explained that the team's findings, published in the scientific journal Science, establish the existence of altermagnetism through rigorous experimental evidence. The researchers focused on manganese telluride (MnTe), a material that had been previously categorized as antiferromagnetic but showed behaviors that more closely resembled those of altermagnets. Altermagnets are distinguished by their unique geometric twist in their crystal lattice structure, which creates an asymmetric magnetic structure—something not observed in conventional antiferromagnets.\n\nThe team used the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) in France to investigate the chiral properties of MnTe. Chirality, or handedness, in materials refers to their inability to be superimposed on a mirror image, similar to how left and right hands are mirror images that cannot fit together. In altermagnets, this handedness arises from the specific arrangement of spins within the material's crystal lattice. By scattering circularly polarized X-rays from MnTe and comparing the response to left- and right-handed beams, the researchers detected a clear chiral signal that was absent in conventional antiferromagnetic materials. This chiral signature confirmed that MnTe exhibited the unique properties of an altermagnet.\n\nThe discovery of altermagnetism opens new possibilities for advanced applications in electronics, particularly in the field of spintronics. Spintronics leverages the spin of electrons, in addition to their charge, to perform computational tasks. By manipulating the magnetic properties of altermagnetic materials, researchers could potentially develop novel devices for quantum technologies, memory storage, and energy-efficient data centers. The rapid confirmation of altermagnetism's existence underscores the dynamic nature of materials science and the ongoing quest to uncover new states of matter with practical applications.",
  "summary": "For decades, physicists recognized only two types of magnetism that occur in materials without external influence: ferromagnetism and antiferromagnetism. In findings published in Science, a team led by the U.S. Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory has delivered conclusive experimental proof of a third magnetic phase called altermagnetism.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}