Quantum Magnets

In her search for new quantum materials for applications ranging from superconductors to topological magnets, Duke physicist Sara Haravifard spends a lot of time tinkering with crystals. Making them ultra-cold, swapping out some of the atoms, exposing them to high magnetic fields, squeezing them under high pressure to create bizarre states of matter and see how they behave. Working with a crystal made with strontium, copper, boron and oxygen, now Haravifard and her team have uncovered new types of quantum magnets, constructed by aligning electron spins in sophisticated patterns. The researchers say these new discovered states can be used for future applications in data storage and spintronics.