Browse Physics

A newly discovered type of magnetoresistance, resulting from spin-dependent scattering at a metal-magnet interface, may potentially be used to study the magnetization in insulating magnets or to develop new spintronic devices.

Combining two spin-dependent effects generates a microwave signal that can be easily read to study the magnetization dynamics in a device with novel geometry.

Coulomb interactions in the presence of spin-orbit coupling can stabilize ferromagnetic order.

Local laser heating is used to image thermally driven spin currents and voltages.

Ferroelectric domain patterns enable voltage-induced magnetization reversal in a magnetic alloy.

A new probe of magnetic monopoles in momentum space is proposed.

A robust measurement scheme indicates that a spin-related torque that speeds up moving domain walls in magnetic nanostructures is larger than previously estimated.

A single $30$-femtosecond pulse has been used to observe x-ray diffraction of a magnetic material, potentially opening the way to ultrafast probing of spin dynamics with nanometer spatial resolution.

Thermal magnetic fluctuations, usually thought of as a barrier to magnetic information storage and processing, can be harnessed to make green, low-energy magnetic applications a possibility.

New experiments indicate that the intrinsic regime of the anomalous Hall effect is independent of scattering.

The magnetic state of a multiferroic device can be controlled purely by an electric field—a property that could greatly reduce overheating in data storage devices.

A dual spin valve with antiparallel outer layers is used to demonstrate a new form of current-dependent giant magnetoresistance.

A microscopic study of magnetic nanoislands on a surface challenges the widely held view that all atoms in a relaxing nanoparticle flip their spins in unison.

Using a double spin-filter tunnel junction consisting of two magnetic insulating layers, researchers have observed a sizeable magnetoresistance without using magnetic electrodes, thus tuning the tunneling via the magnetic state of the insulating layers and by application of an electric voltage.

From conservation laws to selection rules, symmetry arguments have long been revered for their far-reaching consequences in physics. Now they point to an effective spin-orbit coupling in antiferromagnetic conductors.

The 2007 Nobel Prize in Physics recognizes the discovery of giant magnetoresistance, which allowed dramatic improvements in memory density for disk drives (revised 23 October).