BUFFALO, N.Y. — Physicists at the University at Buffalo have proposed a quantum sensing method that could simplify the identification of a recently discovered class of magnets known as altermagnets, potentially paving the way for faster and more energy-efficient electronics.

The study, published in Physical Review Letters, outlines a theoretical technique that measures how a suspected altermagnet disturbs a magnetic defect in a nearby diamond. The relaxation of the defect’s magnetic signal could serve as evidence of altermagnetism, said Jamir Marino, assistant professor of physics at UB and corresponding author of the paper.

“This could be the first building block of a new generation of experiments that determine whether a material is an altermagnet,” Marino said. “Altermagnets could completely revolutionize the way we transport information, but to confirm if this elegant theory is true, we need experiments that identify altermagnets and confirm they behave the way scientists predict.”

Altermagnets, first proposed less than a decade ago, combine properties of ferromagnets — the conventional magnets that attract metals — and antiferromagnets, which cancel out magnetism at the atomic scale. Their unique spin arrangements allow them to switch rapidly like antiferromagnets while retaining controllable electronic properties similar to ferromagnets.

The sensing system, developed with advanced quantum models, would be less invasive than existing methods, Marino said, reducing the risk of altering the natural behavior of the material under study. Experiments are still needed to confirm its effectiveness.

Co-authors include physicists Libor Šmejkal and Jairo Sinova of Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, who first proposed altermagnets, as well as Hossein Hosseinabadi of the Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems and V.A.S.V. Bittencourt of the University of Strasbourg/Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light. The research was supported by the German Research Foundation.