An international team of researchers from the Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society and the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) directly observed how angular momentum is transferred and conserved within a crystal lattice. Using intense terahertz laser pulses, the researchers were able to selectively control these processes, which unveiled a surprising effect: during the angular momentum transfer, the direction of rotation reverses – caused by the rotational symmetry of the material. The results provide new insights into the foundation of magnetism and open up possibilities for tailored control of quantum materials.

Researchers from the Department of Physical Chemistry at the Fritz Haber Institute and Freie Universität Berlin have revealed the arrangement of water molecules at the interface between liquid water and air. Their findings help to better understand interfacial chemistry, which is largely determined by the specific arrangement of the water molecules. The study shows that one parameter in particular - one that has been neglected until now - is of fundamental importance: the water twist.

With the aim to precisely understand its function, researchers from the Inorganic Chemistry Department and Interface Science Department of the Fritz Haber Institute, together with colleagues from the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Energy Conversion investigated the Cu/ZnO/Al₂O₃ catalyst system used for industrial methanol production during reaction conditions. They found that the dynamic, temperature-sensitive nature of the Cu-ZnO interaction is the key to its function – opening up new avenues for rationally improving this process.