Andrea Droghetti

A team led by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, with the participation of SuperVenice, has recently reported a new form of magnetism, called p-wave, in the material NiI₂. This material exhibits a very peculiar internal magnetic structure: the magnetic moments of the atoms — essentially tiny atomic compasses — are arranged in a spiral pattern. One consequence of this structure is that electrons behave in a unique way: their spins are tied to their energy and direction of motion according to a symmetry known as p-wave. In practice, if an electron reverses its direction of motion, its spin also flips, following precise rules. Furthermore, as demonstrated experimentally, in NiI₂ this property can be controlled electrically, without the need for magnetic fields, which are usually required to manipulate spins.Why it matters Although this type of magnetism in NiI₂ appears only at low temperatures, its potential observation in materials stable at room temperature could lead to the development of much faster and more efficient information processing devices compared to those currently available. The full article, published in the “Nature” journal, is available at the following link: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09034-7