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The first direct observation of laser-created isolated hopfions

Phys · · 1255 words · By Ingrid Fadelli

Researchers from multiple international universities have reported the first direct observation of isolated magnetic hopfions created using femtosecond laser pulses. The study, published in Nature Physics, utilizes high-resolution electron microscopy and simulations to verify these 3D magnetic structures, which may have future applications in spintronics and information processing.

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

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10%
Propaganda Score
confidence: 95%
Low risk. This article shows minimal use of propaganda techniques.

fact_checkFact-Check Results

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

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info Single Source 2
verified Verified By Reference 1
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“Researchers at South China University of Technology, Nankai University, Forschungszentrum Jülich, South China Normal University, University of Luxembourg, and Uppsala University recently reported the first direct observation of isolated hopfions in a magnetic material, which were created using laser pulses.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple web search results confirm a collaboration between researchers from Jülich, China, and Sweden regarding the observation of magnetic hopfions. While the specific list of universities is long, the core collaboration and the use of laser pulses for nucleation are supported by the Nature Physics archive and related reports.
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web search NEUTRAL — Find 13104 researchers and browse 238 departments, publications, full-texts, contact details and general information related to South China University of Technology | Guangzhou, China | SCUT
https://www.researchgate.net/institution/South-China-Univers…
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web search NEUTRAL — The latest research progress in high-energy-density lithium batteries by Professor Qing Zhao from the College of Chemistry at Nankai University, Academician Jun Chen, Vice President of Nankai Universi…
https://en.nankai.edu.cn/
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web search NEUTRAL — ACTA Scientiarum Naturalium Nankai Economic Studies Nankai Journal With almost 100 research institutes and centers associated with the university, its colleges, schools, and world-class research facil…
https://en.nankai.edu.cn/Research/main.htm
verified
“Their paper, published in Nature Physics, opens new possibilities for the study and realization of complex magnetic systems.”
VERIFIED
The Nature Physics archive explicitly lists the paper 'Laser-induced nucleation of magnetic hopfions', confirming the publication in that specific journal.
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web search NEUTRAL — Hopfions are widely studied in many physical systems over the last half century.[5]. The soliton is mobile and stable: i.e. it is protected from a decay by an energy barrier. It can be deformed but al…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hopfion
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web search NEUTRAL — These results could stimulate further investigations of Hopfions and their potential application in three-dimensional spintronics devices. In three dimensions, magnetic Skyrmions can form extended str…
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-21846-5?error=coo…
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web search NEUTRAL — In a study published in Nature, the first experimental evidence is presented by a Swedish-German-Chinese research collaboration.Despite extensive research in recent years, direct observation of magnet…
https://phys.org/news/2023-11-experimental-evidence-hopfions…
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“These are localized configurations of the magnetization that behave as particle-like objects within a magnetic material and exist at the nanoscale, typically measuring only a few tens of nanometers.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Wikipedia and multiple academic search results define hopfions as localized, topologically nontrivial magnetic configurations (solitons) that exist at the nanoscale.
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web search NEUTRAL — Localized magnetic topological solitons with Hopf index of 1 in an unbounded bulk magnet are studied theoretically, starting with the classical micromagnetic Hamiltonian.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/358422470_Two_types…
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web search NEUTRAL — 1. Topological physics of magnetic skyrmions The emergence of magnetic skyrmion, a new type of localized stable spin texture, is a direct consequence of evading Derrick’s argument by including an anti…
https://arxiv.org/pdf/1706.08295
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web search NEUTRAL — Hopfions are localized and topologically nontrivial magnetic configurations that have received considerable attention in recent years. In this Letter, we use a micromagnetic approach to analyze the sc…
https://colab.ws/articles/10.1002/pssr.202500022
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“Kiselev, Rybakov, Zheng and their colleagues were able to observe these 3D magnetic structures in composite configurations, such as rings that were linked to strings of other solitons known as skyrmions.”
CORROBORATED
Evidence from multiple sources (including a specific citation for Zheng, Kiselev, and Rybakov) confirms the previous observation of hopfion rings entangled with skyrmion strings.
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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.
https://www.fz-juelich.de/en/news/archive/press-release/2023…
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web search NEUTRAL — Magnetic skyrmions and hopfions are topological structures — well-localized field configurations that have been a hot research topic over the past decade owing to their unique particle-like properties…
https://www.uu.se/en/press/press-releases/2023/2023-11-22-fi…
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web search NEUTRAL — Figure 1. Realization of a magnetic hopfion ring entangled with skyrmion strings. (A) Realization of hopfion through a skyrmion string (top process) or a target skyrmion (bottom process).Zheng, F., Ki…
https://the-innovation.org/article/doi/10.59717/j.xinn-mater…
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“Using a combination of ultrafast electron microscopy and laser technology, the team was ultimately able to produce and observe isolated hopfions nucleated by laser for the first time.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The Nature Physics archive and related summaries confirm that laser-induced nucleation of isolated hopfions was achieved, and the use of electron microscopy is cited as the observation method.
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web search NEUTRAL — Hopfions are widely studied in many physical systems over the last half century.[5]. The soliton is mobile and stable: i.e. it is protected from a decay by an energy barrier. It can be deformed but al…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hopfion
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web search NEUTRAL — Scientists from Jülich, China and Sweden have created and observed for the first time nanoscale 3D magnetic rings in a crystal, as they report in the scientific journal Nature. Their discovery may lea…
https://www.fz-juelich.de/en/news/archive/press-release/2023…
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web search NEUTRAL — Feasible alternatives for hopfion observation are also Lorentz. electron microscopy with exit wave reconstruction,61,62 electron.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/365341453_Magnetic_…
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“Experimentally, we performed these studies using transmission electron microscopy combined with in situ femtosecond laser excitation.”
SINGLE SOURCE
While the general methodology (TEM and laser) is mentioned in the context of the research, the specific phrasing provided in the claim appears to be a direct quote from the paper. The provided web search results for this specific claim index were generic study sites and did not provide independent corroboration of the exact quote, though the Nature Physics archive supports the general method.
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web search NEUTRAL — Take online courses on Study.com that are fun and engaging. Pass exams to earn real college credit. Research schools and degrees to further your education.
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web search NEUTRAL — Master any subject with Studley AI. Trusted by more than 1,000,000 top students. Create beautiful and interactive notes, flashcards, quizzes and podcasts from any content. Study smarter, not harder.
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web search NEUTRAL — StudyFetch builds a personalized study plan from your materials, breaking them into an ordered sequence of topics so you learn things the right way. Instead of guessing what to review, you get flashca…
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verified
“Xiaowen Chen et al, Laser-induced nucleation of magnetic hopfions, Nature Physics (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s41567-026-03236-0.”
VERIFIED
The Nature Physics archive and Springer Nature results explicitly list the paper 'Laser-induced nucleation of magnetic hopfions' by Xiaowen Chen and Donghai Yang. Note: The year 2026 in the claim is likely a future-dated publication or a typo in the source text, but the existence of the paper and authors in the Nature Physics archive is verified.
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web search NEUTRAL — Laser-induced nucleation of magnetic hopfions. The creation of stable and isolated magnetic hopfions—three-dimensional topological solitons—has remained experimentally challenging. Now the laser-induc…
https://www.nature.com/nphys/articles?error=cookies_not_supp…
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web search NEUTRAL — Laser-induced nucleation of magnetic hopfions. Xiaowen Chen. Donghai Yang.
https://link.springer.com/subjects/magnetic-tweezers
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web search NEUTRAL — Professor Paul Dunlovsky et al published a paper.
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/152910061245326…
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.