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Conversion of an external angular momentum, for example, from mechanical rotation or light into ferromagnetic moment has a long history. Here, Sasaki et al. demonstrate the conversion of phonon angular momentum, in ferromagnetic moment, potentially allowing for new types of control for spintronics.

Magnetic skyrmions are topologically stable swirls in a spin structure. Here, the authors demonstrate new ways of controlling them by showing that the absorption of an electromagnetic wave by a skyrmion depends on the direction of incidence and that the resonance modes respond to a magnetic field.

Control of microwave propagation is important for future communication technology. Here, Iguchiet al. report the reversal of microwave nonreciprocity by an external electric field in a multiferroic helimagnet Ba₂Mg₂Fe₁₂O₂₂.

A very large Rashba-type spin splitting, which is a consequence of spin–orbit interaction, has been observed in the heavy-element semiconductor BiTeI. The results show the possibility, in principle, of using the material in spintronics devices in which the electron spin is controlled by electric currents.

Current-induced motion of magnetic nanostructures, such as skyrmions or domain walls, is envisioned as a promising scalable technology for information storage. Yuet al.demonstrate near-room-temperature motion of skyrmions with current densities orders of magnitude lower than previously reported in domain walls.

The spin helicity in helimagnets may be exploited in magnetic memory applications if electrically controllable and detectable. Here, helicity manipulation driven by an electric current and detection by second harmonic resistivity measurements in an itinerant helimagnet MnP is demonstrated.

Chirality is usually manifested by differences in a material’s response to left- and right-circularly polarized light. This difference is the result of the specific distribution of charge within chiral materials. A similar response has now been found to result from the chiral spin structure of an antiferromagnet.

Skyrmions are stable topological textures with particle-like properties — a mathematical concept that was originally used to describe nuclear particles but has since turned up at all scales. Last year, the presence of skyrmions in the magnetic compounds MnSi and Fe_1−xCo_xSi was confirmed with neutron-scattering experiments. Here, real-space images are presented of a two-dimensional skyrmion lattice in a thin film of the latter compound. The observed nanometre-scale spin topology might reveal new magneto-transport effects.

Skyrmions are vortex-like arrangements of spin magnetic moments, which so far have been observed in only a few compounds, and only at low temperatures. The discovery that skyrmions can be stabilized by thin magnetic films close to room temperature promises their use in spintronic devices.