If you hit a crystal with super-fast laser pulses, it creates a 'hidden' state of matter that stays stable for weeks.
April 2, 2026
Original Paper
Excitations across the equilibrium and photoinduced `hidden' states of magnetoresistive manganites
arXiv · 2604.00991
The Takeaway
Normally, materials settle into predictable states, but a blast of light lasting only quadrillionths of a second can kick this material into a secret phase that doesn't exist in nature. This new state has unique magnetic and electrical properties that remain active for days or even weeks after the laser is turned off.
From the abstract
"Hidden" phases, generated using ultrafast laser pulses (few hundred femtoseconds), with properties distinct from thermodynamic equilibrium, are appealing for technologies because they can be long-lived, with lifetimes of hours or weeks, and reversible with temperature sweeping or extra pulses. In this regard, La$_{2/3}$Ca$_{1/3}$MnO$_3$ (LCMO) stands out due to its tunability through epitaxial strain, which can drive the bulk ferromagnetic metal (FMM) into an antiferromagnetic insulator (AFI),