Scientists have uncovered a previously unknown form of magnetism, overturning an understanding of magnetic behavior that had stood for more than a century. The discovery, known as altermagnetism, has revealed a third fundamental category of collinear magnetism and opened vast new possibilities for quantum materials, advanced electronics, and future computing technologies.
Three physicists primarily responsible for the breakthrough have been named recipients of the prestigious 2026 Europhysics Prize, one of Europe’s highest and most respected honors in the field of condensed matter physics. The European Physical Society (EPS) Condensed Matter Division selected Professor Jairo Sinova of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU), Dr. Libor Šmejkal, and Professor Tomas Jungwirth for their monumental work establishing altermagnetism as a distinct and independent form of magnetic order, sitting alongside the long-accepted pillars of ferromagnetism and antiferromagnetism.
"This award recognizes a fundamental discovery that challenged one of the most established paradigms in condensed matter physics," said Professor Jairo Sinova, Director of the Spin Phenomena Interdisciplinary Center (SPICE) at Mainz University. "Discovering that an entirely new magnetic phase had remained hidden for more than one hundred years demonstrates that even the most mature scientific fields can still hold fundamental surprises."
The groundbreaking discovery emerged from years of close international collaboration between Sinova’s dynamic research group at Mainz University and Jungwirth’s distinguished team at the Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences in Prague. Dr. Šmejkal, who also maintained an academic affiliation in Prague, spent eight intensive years at Mainz between 2016 and 2024, initially pursuing his doctoral research and subsequently working as a postdoctoral scientist within Sinova’s specialized group.
During that formative period, Šmejkal played a central, leading role in developing the complex theoretical framework required to conceptualize and prove altermagnetism. By skillfully combining advanced mathematical approaches to structural symmetry with the principles of spintronics—a rapidly advancing field that studies how the intrinsic spin of electrons can be utilized in electronic devices—the researchers successfully identified a previously unrecognized pattern of magnetic behavior operating at the quantum level.
Their compelling theoretical predictions quickly attracted the attention of experimental research teams around the world. Subsequent high-precision measurements of electronic properties and electrical transport across multiple diverse materials provided definitive empirical evidence supporting the new magnetic classification. In the years since its initial theoretical proposition, altermagnetism has grown rapidly into one of the most active and vibrant areas of condensed matter physics, with dedicated research efforts expanding exponentially across Europe, North America, and Asia.
A Third Form of Magnetism Rewrites Physics
For more than 100 years, physicists generally divided collinear magnets into two fundamental and exhaustive categories: ferromagnets and antiferromagnets.
Ferromagnets are characterized by an overall parallel magnetic alignment that produces a clear, measurable net magnetization. Because of this property, these materials are essential components in many magnetic memory and data storage technologies used throughout modern society. By contrast, in conventional antiferromagnets, opposing magnetic moments perfectly cancel one another out, leaving no overall external magnetization and producing electronic behaviors that are drastically different from those observed in ferromagnets.
Altermagnetism introduces a surprising and transformative third possibility that bridges aspects of both worlds.
Like traditional antiferromagnets, altermagnets possess internal magnetic moments that completely cancel out on a macroscopic scale, resulting in zero net magnetization. However, at a microscopic level, their electrons exhibit distinct properties and directional behaviors that were previously thought to be exclusive to ferromagnets.
This unusual and powerful combination allows altermagnets to support robust electrical currents carrying strongly polarized electron spins while simultaneously displaying extremely rapid magnetic dynamics. Those unique characteristics could make them immensely valuable for building an entirely new generation of spintronic devices, potentially advancing the processing speed, energy efficiency, and storage capabilities of future information technologies far beyond current silicon-based limits.
The significance of the discovery extends well beyond electronics and computing. Altermagnetism fundamentally represents a previously unrecognized symmetry class of matter. As such, it has revealed unexpected and profound connections to several major areas of modern physics, including topological phenomena, unconventional superconductivity, and complex quantum materials characterized by strong, intricate interactions between electrons.
How Scientists Discovered Altermagnetism
The winding path toward this major discovery began with theoretical investigations into unusual, unexplained ways that electricity moves through certain types of magnetic materials. Among the earliest theoretical advances along this path was the prediction of the crystal anomalous Hall effect, a subtle and complex phenomenon involving specialized electrical transport in specific crystal structures.
Initially, these unexpected behavioral anomalies might have easily appeared to be isolated, quirky features of individual, highly specific materials. However, the researchers eventually recognized through persistent inquiry that these phenomena were actually deeply connected by a broader, overarching principle involving the intricate symmetries of electron spins.
Rather than representing rare, isolated exceptions to established magnetic behavior, the researchers realized that these materials actually belonged to an entirely different, previously unmapped magnetic category.
A major turning point came in 2022, when the collaborative team published a comprehensive symmetry classification of altermagnetism. In that landmark publication, they identified hundreds of existing and hypothetical materials that could potentially exhibit this hidden state of matter.
Experimental physicists subsequently set out to test these bold predictions using several sophisticated, complementary methods. These techniques included angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES), a powerful tool that directly reveals how electrons behave and distribute themselves inside materials, alongside high-precision measurements of electrical transport under varying physical conditions.
The resulting data decisively confirmed altermagnetic behavior in several key materials, thereby helping to firmly establish the new classification within the empirical framework of modern physics.
Interest in the discovery has expanded at a breathtaking pace across the global scientific community. Hundreds of peer-reviewed scientific papers have been published within just a few short years, and altermagnetism has rapidly transformed into a prominent, highly anticipated subject at major international physics conferences. The growing global research community is now actively investigating both the fundamental physical properties of these materials and their vast array of potential technological applications.
Discovery Earns Prestigious 2026 Europhysics Prize
The Europhysics Prize recognizes major, transformative advances in condensed matter physics, a broad field concerned with understanding the diverse physical properties and complex behaviors of condensed phases of matter. Established in 1975 by the European Physical Society, the award honors breakthrough discoveries that have significantly advanced scientific understanding, with a substantial share of the recognized research traditionally conducted within European institutions.
The 2026 prize specifically honors the groundbreaking theoretical and experimental advances that successfully established altermagnetism as a new, fundamental form of collinear magnetic order.
The formal award ceremony was scheduled to take place in September 2026 during the 32nd General Conference of the European Physical Society Condensed Matter Division (CMD32) in Graz, Austria, gathering leading physicists from across the continent and beyond to celebrate the milestone.
The Scientists Behind the Breakthrough
Professor Jairo Sinova is a prominent physics professor at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz in Germany and serves as the director of the university’s specialized Spin Phenomena Interdisciplinary Center. His ongoing research investigates the fundamental physics of magnetism, advanced spintronics, and complex quantum materials.
Dr. Libor Šmejkal conducted much of the crucial theoretical work that directly led to the identification of altermagnetism while working as a researcher at Mainz University from 2016 to 2024. His current academic affiliations include the Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids, and the Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences.
Professor Tomas Jungwirth is affiliated with the Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences as well as the University of Nottingham. He has collaborated extensively and fruitfully with Sinova’s Mainz research team over many years, playing a central, visionary role in establishing the core theoretical foundations of altermagnetism.
Together, the collaborative efforts of these scientists have revealed a fundamental property of magnetic matter that successfully escaped human recognition for more than a century, opening an entirely new direction for future research into quantum physics and next-generation electronic technologies.
