While researchers have long theorized that magnetism could influence atomic movement<\/a>, this is the first time an experiment has successfully demonstrated that individual atoms can be deliberately guided along a specific path.<\/p>\n \u201cSuch movements had been predicted theoretically but never experimentally observed,\u201d Stefan Heinze, PhD, a professor at the Institute for Theoretical Physics and Astrophysics at CAU, said.<\/p>\n Along with Soumyajyoti Haldar, PhD, an affiliate professor of physics and astrophysics at CAU, Heinze performed quantum mechanical calculations using the high-performance computing network<\/a> (NHR) in Berlin to explain the phenomenon.<\/p>\n The answer lies in quantum mechanics<\/p>\n Upon getting the results, the scientists found it even more remarkable that non-magnetic atoms like rhodium and iridium followed the magnetic tracks.<\/p>\n According to the team, the interaction between the surface and the atoms generates a small magnetic moment<\/a> even in elements that are not inherently magnetic. These moments align with the magnetic orientation of the manganese layer, causing the atoms to prefer movement along specific magnetic directions.<\/p>\n Further simulations revealed that it is energetically easier for atoms to move along the magnetic rows than across them due to the magnetic interactions between the atom and the atoms in the surface layer. The researchers described this by comparing the atoms to tiny bar magnets that align with one another.<\/p>\n Haldar explained that magnetization arises from the atom\u2019s magnetic moment in magnetic elements like cobalt, magnetic atoms such as rhodium and iridium, a small magnetic moment is induced through their interaction with the surface, which then affects the direction in which they move.<\/p>\n As a result, the atoms tend to move along the magnetic rows of the surface, debunking earlier assumptions that magnetism did not affect the motion of individual atoms, a view these findings have now overturned.<\/p>\n \u201cMagnetic properties of a surface can influence the mobility of individual atoms,\u201d Haldar concludes in a press release<\/a>. \u201cThis opens up new possibilities for steering atomic motion \u2013 for example, in applications involving nanotechnology, data storage, or developing novel materials.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/A2_aa7b23.jpg\")
The adatom (red) moves one-dimensionally along the magnetic row when a short local voltage pulse is applied via the tip of the scanning tunneling microscope. Blue and yellow circles represent the surface atoms, and the white arrows indicate the orientation of their atomic bar magnets.
Credit: UHH\/MIN\/Kubetzka<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/A3_ad4dae.jpg\")
The University of Kiel (CAU) campus.
Credit: J\u00fcrgen Haacks \/ University of Kiel (CAU)<\/a><\/p>\n