'Half ice, half fire': Physicists discover new phase of matter in a magnetic material

'Half ice, half fire': Physicists discover new phase of matter in a magnetic material

Two scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory have discovered a new phase of matter while studying a model system of a magnetic material.

Breakthrough Imaging Method Captures the Dynamics of Spin Waves

Breakthrough Imaging Method Captures the Dynamics of Spin Waves The Brookhaven-led team’s novel approach may advance several emerging computing technologies Alexis Young Thu, 03/27/2025 - 12:03 Large Image Caption Members of the Brookhaven research team next to the Lorentz transmission electron microscope: Yimei Zhu, Alex Pofelski, Myung-Geun Han, and Fernando Camino (back row); Spencer Reisbeck (middle); and Chuhang Liu (front). Off Laura Mgr…

In the beginning was the fire! ... or the ice? A new phase of matter, discovered at the Brookhaven National Laboratory in the USA, unites both extremes and could form the basis for more efficient quantum computers and novel systems. (Read more)

Two scientists at the Brookhaven National Laboratory in the United States have discovered a new phase of matter by studying a model system of magnetic material. ...

Researchers from Brookhaven National Laboratory in the United States have identified a unique phase of matter called “half-ice-half-fire”. This exotic state of the material world combines elements of order and chaos: the electronic spins that determine the magnetic characteristics of the material simultaneously show both orderliness (“ice”) and randomness (“fire”). The image was created with Kandinsky A strict magnetic grid is formed in the “icy…

Time has taught us that the states of matter we know from high school (solid, liquid, gas, and plasma) are just the tip of the iceberg. In the depths of quantum physics and magnetic materials, exotic phases are hidden that could revolutionize the technologies of the future. This is the case of the recent discovery by physicists Weiguo Yin and Alexei Tsvelik of the Brookhaven National Laboratory, who have identified a new phase in a one-dimension…