Identifying, understanding, and predicting fundamental magnetic interactions in materials is an essential step toward their utilization in novel devices. One of these basic interactions is the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI), a type of coupling between neighbouring spins that tilts them slightly when they would otherwise tend to align. Although this DMI-induced canting is usually modest, it can lead to small net magnetic moments in “weak ferromagnets” and its direction has a significant impact on spintronic applications and topological materials. In a current paper in Physical Review X, an international team of researchers led by neutron scientists from Forschungszentrum Jülich and RWTH Aachen University present polarized neutron diffraction (PND) as an efficient technique for determining the absolute direction of the DMI in bulk materials.

Research with neutrons provides unique insights into materials and phenomena that cannot be gained using other methods. From this autumn, a groundbreaking project will ensure the most effective use of the research potential of neutron methods. Funding has now been secured by Jülich neutron researchers together with partners from the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Zentrum (MLZ). The aim of the Global Neutron Scientists (GNeuS) project is to train a new generation of highly skilled neutron scientists. The EU is funding the project over its five-year duration with € 3.3 million. The three leading partners are investing a further € 5 million. Within the framework of the project, 45 postdocs will for the first time be able to take part in a 24-month structured, interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral international training programme.

In December 2020, the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine was approved for use across the EU, marking a crucial step forward in the fight against coronavirus. The development of this COVID-19 vaccine built on important research that was undertaken by Mainz-based biotechnology company, BioNTech, in collaboration with the Jülich Center for Neutron Science (JCNS). Using neutron scattering instruments operated by the JCNS at the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Center in Garching, researchers investigated new approaches for the packaging and delivery of the mRNA. Such experiments provide important insights into the relationship between structural properties, biological activity and the vaccine production process, which will help to advance the development of RNA therapeutics and vaccines.

Find out more about how neutron scattering experiments at JCNS have contributed to the development of a COVID-19 vaccine.