We found a new kind of magnetism you can flip on and off at room temperature, which could lead to tiny, lightning-fast computers.
April 3, 2026
Original Paper
Altermagnetism and Room-Temperature Metal-to-Insulator Transition in CsCr$_2$S$_2$O
arXiv · 2604.02114
AI-generated illustration
The Takeaway
Scientists found a material that exhibits 'altermagnetism'—a rare state of matter only recently identified—and can flip between a metal and an insulator at normal temperatures. This combination is a 'missing link' for building advanced computers that use magnetism instead of electricity.
From the abstract
Metal-to-insulator transitions (MITs), particularly near room temperature, have been extensively studied in nonmagnetic and conventional ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic systems, yet the co-emergence of MIT and altermagnetism (AM) remains unexplored. Here, a layered chromium-based compound CsCr$_2$S$_2$O that realizes this coexistence was synthesized. It crystalizes in CeCr$_2$Si$_2$C-type structure with Cr moments orders in a C-type antiferromagnetic configuration below $T_\mathrm{N}$ = 326