An international team led by Dr. Jaime Sánchez-Barriga of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) has discovered that cobalt, one of the most studied magnetic metals, hides a dense network of topological electronic states that survive at room temperature. Using spin- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (spin-ARPES) at the BESSY II synchrotron, the researchers mapped "magnetic nodal lines" where energy bands cross, letting electrons move as if they were massless particles.
Crucially, these spin-polarized states can be switched and steered with magnetism rather than only with electric fields. That combination of speed and magnetic control is exactly what spintronics needs, making everyday cobalt an unexpectedly rich platform for next-generation computing and low-power memory devices.
The work, published in Communications Materials (Nature Portfolio) with theoretical support from Dr. Maia G. Vergniory and collaborators at the Diamond Light Source and institutions in Spain and Canada, reshapes the textbook picture of a familiar element and hints that other 'simple' magnets may hold similar surprises.