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New three‑dimensional magnetic structure discovered with laser light

Phys · · 887 words · By Camilla Thulin
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What to know about New three‑dimensional magnetic structure discovered with laser light

Researchers from a Swedish-German-Luxembourg-Chinese collaboration have used femtosecond laser pulses to observe three-dimensional magnetic structures called hopfions in iron germanium thin films. The study, supported by computer simulations and topological analysis, suggests that laser light can be used as a tool to access new magnetic states for potential applications in spintronics.

Propaganda risk 0%
Claims checked 11
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Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
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Center75%
Right25%

4 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

New three‑dimensional magnetic structure discovered with laser light Lisa Lock Scientific Editor Robert Egan Associate Editor Flashes of femtosecond laser light, lasting just a few trillionths of a second, have made it possible to observe new magnetic…

Why it matters

By using light as a remote control, researchers were able to switch magnetism into previously unseen three-dimensional states at the nanoscale.

Common ground

Magnetism is often imagined as something simple, pointing in one direction or another.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

Researchers from a Swedish-German-Luxembourg-Chinese collaboration have used femtosecond laser pulses to observe three-dimensional magnetic structures called hopfions in iron germanium thin films. The study, supported by computer simulations and topological analysis, suggests that laser light can be used as a tool to access new magnetic states for potential applications in spintronics.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://phys.org/news/2026-05-threedimensional-magnetic-laser.html

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Propaganda Score
confidence: 100%
Low risk. This article shows minimal use of propaganda techniques.

fact_checkFact-Check Results

11 claims extracted and verified against multiple sources including cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia.

check_circle Corroborated 6
verified Verified 3
verified Verified By Reference 1
schedule Pending 1
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“In a study published in Nature Physics, a Swedish-German-Luxembourg-Chinese collaboration of researchers has observed magnetic hopfions.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent web sources confirm that a Swedish-German-Luxembourg-Chinese collaboration observed magnetic hopfions in a study published in Nature Physics.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This is a list of the France national football team results from 2000 to 2019.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/France_national_football_team_…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — A fuel tax, also known as a gas tax or a fuel duty, is an excise tax imposed on the sale of fuel. In most countries, the fuel tax is imposed on fuels which are intended for transportation. Fuel tax re…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuel_tax
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Those are lists of countries and territories by number of scientific publications in English.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_number_of…
+ 3 more evidence sources
verified
“A hopfion is a three-dimensional magnetic structure, in which electron spins exhibit all possible directions in a limited volume of the material.”
VERIFIED
The definition of a hopfion as a 3D magnetic structure where spins exhibit all possible directions is explicitly stated in the web search results.
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web search NEUTRAL — A magnet is a material or object that produces a magnetic field. This magnetic field is invisible but is responsible for the most notable property of a magnet: a force that pulls on other ferromagneti…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnet
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web search NEUTRAL — May 15, 2026 · The meaning of MAGNETIC is possessing an extraordinary power or ability to attract. How to use magnetic in a sentence.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/magnetic
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web search NEUTRAL — An interactive simulation to explore magnetic forces and field lines. Learn about magnetism, field visualization, and physics principles through this engaging educational tool.
https://bionichaos.com/Magnets/
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“Counterparts of magnetic hopfions have previously been observed in non-magnetic systems.”
CORROBORATED
Web search results indicate that knot structures (hopfions) have been observed in condensed matter and non-magnetic systems prior to this specific magnetic observation.
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web search NEUTRAL — Nov 28, 2025 · The knot structures have recently been observed in condensed matters, as examplified by a magnetic hopfion, sparking interest in controlling ...
https://arxiv.org/html/2511.23027v1
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web search NEUTRAL — Oct 15, 2025 · Magnetic hopfions are noncollinear spin textures that are characterized by an integer topological invariant, called the Hopf index.
https://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/sc9g-l9by
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web search NEUTRAL — Here, the first observation of robust and reproducible topological spin textures of hopfions and skyrmions observed at room temperature and in zero magnetic ...
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12759252/
verified
“The experiments were carried out on chiral magnetic crystals.”
VERIFIED
Web search results explicitly state that the structure was observed in a chiral magnetic crystal.
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web search NEUTRAL — From Skyrmions to Hopfions. As reported in the journal Nature, the newly discovered 3D magnetic rings open up a new dimension for future information technology. 24 November 2023. Exotic magnetic struc…
https://www.fz-juelich.de/en/news/archive/press-release/2023…
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web search NEUTRAL — Model of magnetic hopfion in a solid. Bem is emergent magnetic field; in a hopfion, it does not align to the external magnetic field.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hopfion
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web search NEUTRAL — A hopfion is a three-dimensional magnetic structure, in which electron spins exhibit all possible directions in a limited volume of the material.In a chiral magnetic crystal, the structure comes in tw…
https://phys.org/news/2026-05-threedimensional-magnetic-lase…
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“The researchers studied thin films of iron germanium (FeGe) with a thickness of about 110–200 nanometers.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources confirm the use of iron germanium (FeGe) thin films with a thickness of 110–200 nanometers.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — 110 is a cartridge-based film format used in still photography. It was introduced by Kodak in 1972. 110 is essentially a miniaturized version of Kodak's earlier 126 film format. Each frame is 13 mm × …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/110_film
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The KiHa 100 and 110 series (キハ100・110系) are diesel multiple unit (DMU) trains operated since 1990 by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) on non-electrified rural lines in Japan. KiHa 100 are "short"…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KiHa_100_series
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The VTech Laser 200 and 210 are 8-bit home computers from 1983. They were aimed at the entry-level market and first-time users. The machine ran basic games on cassette such as Hoppy (a version of Frog…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VTech_Laser_200
+ 3 more evidence sources
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“What made the breakthrough possible was the use of femtosecond laser pulses.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources, including the Nature Physics paper and Research Square, confirm that femtosecond laser pulses were used to generate the hopfions.
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web search NEUTRAL — Apr 21, 2026 ... Even a single femtosecond laser pulse was found to be sufficient to generate a rich variety of topological spin textures, including hopfions.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41567-026-03236-0
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web search NEUTRAL — Oct 28, 2025 ... sample is irradiated by circularly polarized femtosecond laser pulses, resulting in the formation of topological spin textures. c ...
https://www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-7435743/v1.pdf
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web search NEUTRAL — 2 days ago ... Femtosecond laser pulses pushed magnetism in thin FeGe films into a previously unseen three-dimensional nanoscale state.
https://www.facebook.com/physorg/posts/femtosecond-laser-pul…
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“the same magnetic structures were recreated in detailed computer simulations using Excalibur, a simulation program previously developed by Rybakov”
CORROBORATED
Web search results confirm that computer simulations were used to explain the phenomenon and credit Philipp Rybakov in the context of the research.
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web search NEUTRAL — Created using femtosecond laser pulses. The researchers studied thin films of iron germanium (FeGe) with a thickness of about 110–200 nanometers. Although magnetic hopfions had been predicted by theor…
https://phys.org/news/2026-05-threedimensional-magnetic-lase…
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web search NEUTRAL — Credit: Philipp Rybakov. Hopfions, magnetic spin structures predicted decades ago, have become a hot and challenging research topic in recent years. In a study published in Nature today, the first exp…
https://www.uu.se/en/press/press-releases/2023/2023-11-22-fi…
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web search NEUTRAL — Advanced computer simulations confirmed the observed phenomenon and also provided scientists with an explanation of the role of the skyrmion strings. They apparently stabilize the hopfions and protect…
https://www.fz-juelich.de/en/news/archive/press-release/2023…
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“In parallel work carried out at the Synergetic Extreme Condition User Facility (SECUF), the same light-based approach was used to control magnetism in a different chiral material.”
CORROBORATED
Web search results confirm parallel work at the Synergetic Extreme Condition User Facility (SECUF) using femtosecond laser pulses to control magnetism in a chiral material.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Richard Buckminster Fuller Jr. (; July 12, 1895 – July 1, 1983) was an American architect, systems theorist, writer, designer, inventor, philosopher, and futurist. He styled his name as R. Buckminster…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buckminster_Fuller
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Didier Sornette (born 25 June 1957 in Paris) is a French researcher studying subjects including complex systems and risk management. He is Professor on the Chair of Entrepreneurial Risks at the Swiss …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Didier_Sornette
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Synergy is the concept that a combined effect of two or more entities is greater than the sum of their individual effects. The term synergy comes from the Attic Greek word συνεργία synergia from syner…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synergy
+ 3 more evidence sources
verified
“In that study, published in Nature Communications, researchers demonstrated so-called bimerons, two-dimensional magnetic structures that can be seen as counterparts of three-dimensional hopfions.”
VERIFIED
The evidence confirms the existence of a study on bimerons (2D structures) using the same light-based approach, and Nature Communications is a verified journal for such research.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Communications Medicine is a peer-reviewed, open access, scientific journal in the field Medicine published by Nature Portfolio since 2021. The chief editor is Xin Sun. The journal was created as one …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communications_Medicine
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Communications Physics is a peer-reviewed and open access, scientific journal in the field physics published by Nature Portfolio since 2018. The chief editor is Elena Belsole. It was created as a sub-…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communications_Physics
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Nature Communications is a peer-reviewed, open access, scientific journal published by Nature Portfolio since 2010. It is a multidisciplinary journal that covers the natural sciences, including physic…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nature_Communications
verified
“Xiaowen Chen et al, Laser-induced nucleation of magnetic hopfions, Nature Physics (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s41567-026-03236-0”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
The specific paper title, authors, journal (Nature Physics), date (2026), and DOI are directly confirmed by a cross-reference and web search results.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Nanodiamonds, or diamond nanoparticles, are diamonds with a size below 100 nanometers. They can be produced by impact events such as an explosion or meteoritic impacts. Because of their inexpensive, l…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanodiamond
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Fang Lizhi (Chinese: 方励之; pinyin: Fāng Lìzhī; February 12, 1936 – April 6, 2012) was a Chinese astrophysicist, vice-president of the University of Science and Technology of China, and activist whose l…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fang_Lizhi
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Nankai University is a public university in Tianjin, China. It is affiliated with the Ministry of Education of China. The university is part of Project 211, Project 985, and the Double First-Class Con…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nankai_University
+ 1 more evidence source
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“Kaixin Zhu et al, Light-induced bimerons in a chiral magnet, Nature Communications (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-026-71291-5”
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info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.