A previously overlooked set of spin symmetries has revealed that magnetism does not fit neatly into just two categories.

For more than a century, physicists divided collinear magnets into two basic types. The discovery of altermagnetism has added a third, earning Professor Jairo Sinova of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU), Dr. Libor Šmejkal and Professor Tomas Jungwirth the 2026 Europhysics Prize from the European Physical Society (EPS) Condensed Matter Division.

One of Europe’s leading honors in condensed matter physics, the prize recognizes their work establishing altermagnetism as a previously unknown fundamental form of magnetic order alongside ferromagnetism and antiferromagnetism. The finding has challenged a long-accepted picture of magnetism and created a research field with potential consequences for quantum materials, condensed matter physics and future information technologies.