Inductance meets memory in a quantum magnet

Orbital degrees of freedom offer a largely untapped route to emergent dynamical phenomena in correlated quantum materials. However, it remains unclear whether collective orbital states can intrinsically generate both reactive and memory functionalities in a bulk system. Here we show that in the ferrimagnet Mn3Si2Te6, nonequilibrium reconfiguration of chiral orbital currents produces both emergent inductance and nonvolatile memristance as intrinsic properties of a single crystal. At low frequency and under a magnetic field along the c axis, coherent orbital-current domains generate robust clockwise inductive I-V loops. At higher frequency and low field, current-driven first-order reconfiguration leads to incomplete reversal and metastable trapping, producing an intrinsic electromotive force and a finite remanent voltage at zero current. These results establish orbital currents as a class of quantum state variables that encode both reactive and memory functionalities, opening routes toward intrinsically reconfigurable and energy-efficient electronic systems.

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Publication Details

Journal
Communications Physics
Published
2026-04-11
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s42005-026-02622-7
Primary Topic
Quantum many-body systems
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Inductance meets memory in a quantum magnet

Hengdi Zhao, Gang Cao, Longji Cui, Yu Zhang et al.
Communications Physics
Quantum many-body systems
article

Inductance meets memory in a quantum magnet

Hengdi Zhao, Gang Cao, Longji Cui, Yu Zhang, Arabella Quane, Gabriel Schebel, Tristan R. Cao, Feng Ye
article en

Abstract

Orbital degrees of freedom offer a largely untapped route to emergent dynamical phenomena in correlated quantum materials. However, it remains unclear whether collective orbital states can intrinsically generate both reactive and memory functionalities in a bulk system. Here we show that in the ferrimagnet Mn3Si2Te6, nonequilibrium reconfiguration of chiral orbital currents produces both emergent inductance and nonvolatile memristance as intrinsic properties of a single crystal. At low frequency and under a magnetic field along the c axis, coherent orbital-current domains generate robust clockwise inductive I-V loops. At higher frequency and low field, current-driven first-order reconfiguration leads to incomplete reversal and metastable trapping, producing an intrinsic electromotive force and a finite remanent voltage at zero current. These results establish orbital currents as a class of quantum state variables that encode both reactive and memory functionalities, opening routes toward intrinsically reconfigurable and energy-efficient electronic systems.

Communications Physics
National Science Foundation, Division of Materials Research
Openalex Percentile: Top 17%
Quantum many-body systems
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Inductance meets memory in a quantum magnet — Hengdi Zhao, Gang Cao, et al. · Communications Physics (2026) | TGRS Research Map | TGRS