Study Reveals Impact of Spins on Solid Oxygen's Crystal Structure in Intense Magnetic Fields

November 8, 2025 feature

by Ingrid Fadelli, Phys.org

contributing writer

edited by Sadie Harley, reviewed by Robert Egan

scientific editor

associate editor

This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:

fact-checked

peer-reviewed publication

trusted source

proofread

Placing materials under extremely strong magnetic fields can give rise to unusual and fascinating physical phenomena or behavior. Specifically, studies show that under magnetic fields above 100 tesla (T), spins (i.e., intrinsic magnetic orientations of electrons) and atoms start forming new arrangements, promoting new phases of matter or stretching a crystal lattice.

One physical effect that can take place under these extreme conditions is known as magnetostriction. This effect essentially prompts a material's crystal structure to stretch out, shrink or deform.

When magnetic fields above 100 T are produced experimentally, they can only be maintained for a very short time, typically for only a few microseconds. This is because their generation poses great stress on the wires used to produce the fields (i.e., coils), causing them to break almost immediately.

Researchers at the University of Electro-Communications in Tokyo, RIKEN and other institutes in Japan recently developed new equipment to briefly produce extremely strong magnetic fields around 110 T and then capture the positions of atoms in materials under these fields.

In a paper published in Physical Review Letters, they report new insight gathered when applying these methods to the study of solid oxygen.

'The primary goal of the study is to explore the extreme world of ultrahigh magnetic fields of 100–1,000 T,' Akihiko Ikeda, first author of the paper, told Phys.org. 'In the study, we conducted an X-ray experiment above 100 T for the first time, which is significant in terms of exploring the frontier.'

To perform their experiments, Ikeda and his colleagues used a portable magnetic field generator they developed, called PINK-02. This generator allowed them to produce an extremely high magnetic field of approximately 110 T for a few microseconds.

The researchers subsequently used laser technology to fire ultrafast XFEL X-ray pulses at solid oxygen crystals that were exposed to this extremely strong magnetic field. This approach allowed them to capture snapshots that showed the positions of solid oxygen atoms during the magnetic pulse.

'The novelty of our paper is the newly devised portable 100 T generator called PINK-02, which is essential for the study,' explained Ikeda. 'This generator was combined with the X-ray free-electron laser, which is only possible because of the portability of PINK-02.'

Ultimately, the team analyzed the snapshots and compared the positions of atoms before and while solid oxygen was exposed to the 110T magnetic field. This yielded interesting results, showing that the crystal underwent a gigantic magnetostriction and was stretched by approximately 1%.

The researchers linked the magnetostriction they observed to competing spin interactions and lattice forces under strong magnetic fields. Therefore, their work suggests that under magnetic fields over 100T, spins influence the crystal structure of solid materials, particularly solid oxygen.

In the future, the magnetic field generator they developed and the X-ray laser they employed could be used to study other materials under the same extreme conditions.

'Our findings demonstrate that spins can affect the stability of a material's crystal structure, in the case of our study that of solid oxygen,' added Ikeda.

'We will now try to uncover the crystal structure of solid oxygen called the θ phase, by further increasing the available magnetic fields up to 120 to 130 T and will uncover the crystal structure change in various materials above 100 T.'

Written for you by our author Ingrid Fadelli, edited by Sadie Harley, and fact-checked and reviewed by Robert Egan—this article is the result of careful human work. We rely on readers like you to keep independent science journalism alive. If this reporting matters to you, please consider a donation (especially monthly). You'll get an ad-free account as a thank-you.

More information: Akihiko Ikeda et al, X-Ray Free-Electron Laser Observation of Giant and Anisotropic Magnetostriction in β-O2 at 110 Tesla, Physical Review Letters (2025). DOI: 10.1103/r7br-qnrn.

Journal information: Physical Review Letters

© 2025 Science X Network