In 2022, theorists gave a name to a new class of magnetic order: altermagnetism (see Viewpoint: Altermagnetism Then and Now). Materials that exhibit this phenomenon are predicted to have no net magnetization and an electronic band structure that is split into spin-up and spin-down bands, giving these materials properties of both antiferromagnets and ferromagnets. Despite extensive effort, strong experimental evidence for the existence of altermagnetic materials has been lacking. Such evidence has now been found by Changyoung Kim at Seoul National University in South Korea and his colleagues [1]. The researchers say that the distinctive properties of altermagnets could be useful for spin-based electronics.
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