Credit: Image courtesy of the University of Kentucky. Adapted from J. S. Woods et al., “Switchable X-Ray Orbital Angular Momentum from an Artificial Spin Ice.” Physical Review Letters 126, 117201 (2021).
X-ray photons scattered from a patterned array of nanoscale magnets acquire a twist that is related to orbital angular momentum. The X-ray beams can be switched on and off with temperature and magnetic fields. Inset: experimental X-ray diffraction pattern