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upstart writes:

New type of magnetism unveiled in an iconic material:

Since the discovery of superconductivity in Sr₂RuO₄ in 1994, hundreds of studies have been published on this compound, which have suggested that Sr₂RuO₄ is a very special system with unique properties. These properties make Sr₂RuO₄ a material with great potential, for example, for the development of future technologies including superconducting spintronics and quantum electronics by virtue of its ability to carry lossless electrical currents and magnetic information simultaneously. An international research team led by scientists at the University of Konstanz has been now able to answer one of the most interesting open questions on Sr₂RuO₄: why does the superconducting state of this material exhibit some features that are typically found in materials known as ferromagnets, which are considered being antagonists to superconductors? The team has found that Sr₂RuO₄ hosts a new form of magnetism, which can coexist with superconductivity and exists independently of superconductivity as well. The results have been published in the current issue of Nature Communications.

[...] The authors also developed a theoretical model suggesting the origin of this hidden surface magnetism. "Unlike for conventional magnetic materials whose magnetic properties originate from the quantum mechanical property of an electron known as spin, a cooperative swirling motion of interacting electrons, generating circulating currents at the nanometer scale, underlies the magnetism discovered in Sr₂RuO₄" states Dr Mario Cuoco from the CNR-spin who developed the theoretical model along with Dr Maria Teresa Mercaldo and other colleagues at the University of Salerno.

[...] The new type of magnetism discovered in Sr₂RuO₄ is essential to also better understanding the other physical properties of Sr₂RuO₄ including its unconventional superconductivity. The fundamental discovery may also lead to the search for this new form of magnetism in other materials similar to Sr₂RuO₄ as well as trigger new studies to better understand how such magnetism can be manipulated and controlled for novel quantum electronics applications.

Journal Reference:
Fittipaldi, R., Hartmann, R., Mercaldo, M. T., et al. Unveiling unconventional magnetism at the surface of Sr2RuO4 [open], Nature Communications (DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-26020-5)

Original Submission