Quantum metals are materials in which quantum effects, usually confined to the atomic scale, become strong enough to influence their large-scale electrical behavior.

A team of researchers in Japan has now uncovered how electricity operates in a unique type of quantum metal known as kagome metals. Their work is the first to demonstrate that weak magnetic fields can flip tiny circulating electrical currents inside these materials. When this reversal happens, it alters the overall electrical properties of the metal and changes the preferred direction of current flow. This phenomenon, called the diode effect, means that electricity can pass more easily one way than the other.

The scientists also discovered that quantum geometric effects magnify this switching process by nearly 100 times. Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the study lays the theoretical groundwork for future electronic technologies that could be guided using simple magnetic fields.

To read more, click here.