Unusual Waves Discovered in Nickel-Based Magnet by Physicists

Physicists at Rice University have discovered "spin excitons" that can ripple through a nickel-based magnet as a coherent wave. In a study published in Nature Communications, the researchers reported finding unusual properties in nickel molybdate, a layered magnetic crystal. The researchers found that two outermost electrons from each nickel ion behaved differently, and rather than aligning their spins like compass needles, the two canceled one another in a phenomenon physicists call a spin singlet. The resulting effect on the nickel spin is called a spin exciton, and one would normally expect the effect of the exciton-producing "kick" to be confined to a single atom.