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.
Authors
- Hengdi Zhao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4606-6323)
- Gang Cao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9779-430X)
- Longji Cui (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0469-3230)
- Yu Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1405-5788)
- Arabella Quane
- Gabriel Schebel
- Tristan R. Cao
- Feng Ye (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7477-4648)
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
Funders
- National Science Foundation
- Division of Materials Research