One of Europe’s highest distinctions in condensed matter physics has been awarded for a discovery that is reshaping our understanding of magnetism: The 2026 Europhysics Prize of the European Physical Society (EPS) Condensed Matter Division goes to Professor Jairo Sinova of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU), Dr. Libor Šmejkal and Professor Tomas Jungwirth for their discovery of altermagnetism—a previously unknown fundamental class of magnetism.

The prize recognizes their work establishing that nature hosts a third elementary form of collinear magnetism in addition to ferromagnetism and antiferromagnetism. The discovery overturns a century-old understanding of magnetic order and has opened an entirely new research field with major implications for quantum materials, condensed matter physics and future information technologies.

“This award recognizes a fundamental discovery that challenged one of the most established paradigms in condensed matter physics,” said Sinova, director of the Spin Phenomena Interdisciplinary Center (SPICE) at Mainz University. “Discovering that an entirely new magnetic phase had remained hidden for more than 100 years demonstrates that even the most mature scientific fields can still hold fundamental surprises.”