The best candidate for next-generation magnetic devices -- technology that can power, store, sense or transport information -- may be, counterintuitively, antiferromagnets.

Today, most widely used magnetic materials are ferromagnets, which exhibit permanent magnetization and therefore strongly attract each other. Their opposite, called antiferromagnetic materials, exhibit no net magnetization at all. Despite a net zero magnetic field, they offer appealing properties that would solve the challenges of current magnetic technologies, like stray magnetic field generation or slow operation.

Now, a team led by researchers at Tohoku University have taken the first step toward developing antiferromagnetic technology. The researchers found, for the first time, that under a current, antiferromagnets can exhibit a phase of matter known as "liquid-crystal," or nematic, that can be electrically detected. They published their innovative work on January 7, 2026, in Nature Communications.

"The antiferromagnets we work with possess a fundamentally different symmetry from conventional ferromagnets, meaning that they are not simply an alternative material platform, but a new class of magnets expected to host entirely new electronic functionalities," said corresponding author Hideaki Sakai.

To achieve functionalities comparable to those of ferromagnets, antiferromagnets must break time-reversal (T) symmetry and inversion, or parity (P), symmetry. This newly emerging class of materials, known as PT-symmetric antiferromagnets, breaks both T and P symmetries while preserving their combined PT symmetry.

T symmetry refers to the idea that a system should appear the same whether it is moving forward or backward. When T symmetry breaks, it creates electronic bands with energy levels split and dependent on the spin -- a physical property -- of particles in the system. This makes the system look different when it moves forward versus backward. P symmetry refers to the physical description of a system -- a mirror image of the system should behave the same as the original. P symmetry breaking results in mirror images behaving differently. This new class of materials breaks T and P symmetries in such a way that they balance out, maintaining an unbroken combined PT symmetry.

"Recent studies in the field reveals special crystal structures that allow T symmetry breaking and novel functionalities," Sakai said. "In contrast, much less is known about antiferromagnets that also break P symmetry. These systems exhibit electronic bands that lead to physical properties fundamentally different from those of conventional ferromagnets or T-broken antiferromagnets."

The team investigated strontium manganese bismuthide (SrMnBi2), a crystalline material consisting of alternating PT-symmetric antiferromagnetic layers and highly conductive Dirac electron layers -- a type of material that enables electrons to move in a speedy, linear fashion.

The researchers measured the electron transport under an applied current and a magnetic field, observing a current-induced electronic deformation. The deformation manifested as a diode-like nonlinear resistance signal, or an electrical asymmetrical movement from a component, like a diode, which allows current to flow in one direction.

"Importantly, the diode polarity depends on the magnetic-field direction, providing clear evidence of electronic nematicity induced by electric current in a PT-symmetric antiferromagnet," Sakai said.

They also found that the diode direction could be switched by controlling the electric current and magnetic field. This contrasts with conventional diode capabilities, offering what Sakai called a new operating principle for electronic devices.

This research demonstrates, for the first time, that antiferromagnets can exhibit a current-induced electronic 'liquid-crystal' state that is directly detectable as an electrical resistance change, promising qualitatively new device functions rather than incremental improvements of existing spintronic technologies.