New era of magnetization: Research sheds light on future applications in spintronics and valleytronics

New era of magnetization: Research sheds light on future applications in spintronics and valleytronics
Suppression of intervalley scattering observed in the QPI pattern. Credit: Nature Physics (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41567-025-02864-2

Altermagnets, which exhibit momentum-dependent spin splitting without spin–orbit coupling (SOC) or net magnetization, have recently attracted significant international attention.

A team led by Prof. Liu Junwei from the Department of Physics at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), along with their experimental collaborators, published their latest research findings in Nature Physics, which unveiled the first experimental observation of a two-dimensional layered room-temperature altermagnet, validating the theoretical predictions in Nature Communications made by Prof. Liu in 2021.

The realization and control of spin-polarized e...

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SPHEREx space telescope begins capturing entire sky

NASA’s SPHEREx mission is observing the entire sky in 102 infrared colors, or wavelengths of light not visible to the human eye. This image shows a section of sky in one wavelength (3.29 microns), revealing a cloud of dust made of a molecule similar to soot or smoke.

Launched on March 11, NASA’s SPHEREx space observatory has spent the last six weeks undergoing checkouts, calibrations, and other activities to ensure it is working as it should. Now it’s mapping the entire sky—not just a large part of it—to chart the positions of hundreds of millions of galaxies in 3D to answer some big questions about the universe.

On May 1, the spacecraft began regular science operations, which consist of taking about 3,600 images per day for the next two years to provide new insights about the...

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Betavoltaic cell with perovskite-radioactive isotope combo can power long-term applications

World's first next-generation perovskite betavoltaic cell developed
Schematic mechanism illustration of the perovskite betavoltaic cell. Credit: Chemical Communications (2025). DOI: 10.1039/D4CC05935B

A research team has developed the world’s first next-generation betavoltaic cell by directly connecting a radioactive isotope electrode to a perovskite absorber layer. By embedding carbon-14-based quantum dots into the electrode and enhancing the perovskite absorber layer’s crystallinity, the team achieved both stable power output and high energy conversion efficiency.

The work is published in the journal Chemical Communications. The team was led by Professor Su-Il In of the Department of Energy Science & Engineering at DGIST.

The newly developed technology offers a stable, long-term power supply without the need for recharging, making it a promis...

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Chandra diagnoses cause of fracture in galactic ‘bone’

G359.13142-0.20005
Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/Northwestern Univ./F. Yusef-Zadeh et al; Radio: NRF/SARAO/MeerKat; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/N. Wolk

Astronomers have discovered a likely explanation for a fracture in a huge cosmic “bone” in the Milky Way galaxy, using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and radio telescopes.

The bone appears to have been struck by a fast-moving, rapidly spinning neutron star, or a pulsar. Neutron stars are the densest known stars and form from the collapse and explosion of massive stars. They often receive a powerful kick from these explosions, sending them away from the explosion’s location at high speeds.

Enormous structures resembling bones or snakes are found near the center of the galaxy...

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