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Confirming altermagnetism in an abundant mineral

Also known as magnetoelectronics, spintronics rely on electron spin rather than electron charge, as found in traditional electronics. Although spintronics is still an emerging field, spintronic technologies are already found in hard disk drives and giant magnetoresistance sensors used in industrial and automotive applications. Once the right foundational materials are discovered and verified, including economical materials for altermagnets, spintronics could advance technologies from wireless communication to quantum computing.

Researchers using neutrons at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) discovered that hematite, essentially rust, can help design energy-efficient spintronics.

The team’s findings, published in Physical Review Letters, confirmed a key signature of altermagnetism (a new type of magnetism discovered in 2022) in hematite. Altermagnets are magnetic materials in which electron spins align in opposite directions, allowing pure spin currents to flow without a net electric charge—ideal conditions for spintronics. The team measured spin waves, which move through a material’s magnetic order similar to how sound waves move through air. They discovered that these waves show a clear separation in energy, a unique signature that confirms the material’s altermagnetic nature.

Quantum Fourier transform reaches 52 qubits, shattering the previous 27-qubit record

The spin-off company ParityQC has implemented the largest quantum Fourier transform ever reported using an IBM quantum computer, thereby setting a new milestone on the path toward the industrial application of quantum computers. The quantum Fourier transform is a cornerstone algorithm with applications in cryptography, financial modeling, and materials science.

Innsbruck-based quantum architecture company ParityQC performed a quantum Fourier transform using 52 superconducting qubits on an IBM Heron quantum processor. This surpasses the previous record of 27 qubits, which was set two years ago using an ion-trap quantum computer. The results were published this week on the arXiv preprint server.

“This milestone was only possible through the synergy of IBM’s latest quantum hardware and the ParityQC Architecture, which unlocked an exponential improvement in efficiency,” say Wolfgang Lechner and Magdalena Hauser, Co-CEOs of ParityQC. “What we are witnessing is European quantum innovation taking a global lead in translating theoretical potential into real-world performance.”

New laser method gives insight into radioactive atomic nuclei

By directing pulses of laser light at atoms, researchers can study how radioactive elements decay in a matter of seconds. The method is described in a new thesis from the University of Gothenburg, which shows that the atomic nuclei of the elements neptunium and fermium are shaped like rugby balls.

Actinides are a group of elements at the bottom of the periodic table. They have a high density, are radioactive, and several of them only exist for a few seconds before they decay. Only four of the 14 elements in this group occur naturally on Earth. The others can be produced in an accelerator, but only in very small quantities. Uranium is the best-known actinide, but a new thesis from the University of Gothenburg focuses on neptunium and fermium.

New Microsoft Defender “RedSun” zero-day PoC grants SYSTEM privileges

A researcher known as “Chaotic Eclipse” has published a proof-of-concept exploit for a second Microsoft Defender zero-day, dubbed “RedSun,” in the past two weeks, protesting how the company works with cybersecurity researchers.

This exploit is for a local privilege escalation (LPE) flaw that grants SYSTEM privileges in Windows 10, Windows 11, and Windows Server on the latest April Patch Tuesday patches, when Windows Defender is enabled.

“When Windows Defender realizes that a malicious file has a cloud tag, for whatever stupid and hilarious reason, the antivirus that’s supposed to protect decides that it is a good idea to just rewrite the file it found again to it’s original location,” explains the researcher.

Temperature shifts change plant proteins powering photosynthesis

Humans adjust to changes in temperature by putting on a sweater or taking off layers. Plants adjust to temperature changes, in part, by switching the way they express the protein that performs the critical first step of photosynthesis, according to new research from Cornell, Texas A&M and Stockholm University.

Rubisco is the most abundant protein on Earth, and it is responsible for fixing carbon so that plants can convert it into photosynthetic energy. Better understanding of the basic science underpinning rubisco’s function, therefore, has implications for increasing agricultural yields, improving carbon sequestration technology and understanding how plants may adapt to a warming climate.

In the paper “ Rubisco Kinetic Acclimation at the Holoenzyme Level,” published April 15 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the researchers demonstrate that while rubisco’s protein core remains consistent, parts of its exterior can be swapped out, akin to an outfit. A stiffer exterior is preferred in the heat, for protection, and a looser one in the cold, to increase efficiency. This study, using the mustard-family plant Arabidopsis, is the first to show how rubisco acclimates to temperature changes in any plant species.

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