by Hebrew University of Jerusalem
https://phys.org/news/2025-11-magnetic-component-faraday-effect-centuries.html
“Their findings, published in Scientific Reports, show that light can magnetically influence matter, not just illuminate it. The discovery opens new possibilities in optics, spintronics, and quantum technologies.
The study was led by Dr. Amir Capua and Benjamin Assouline from the Institute of Electrical Engineering and Applied Physics at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. It presents the first theoretical proof that the oscillating magnetic field of light directly contributes to the Faraday effect, a phenomenon in which the polarization of light rotates as it passes through a material exposed to a constant magnetic field.
‘In simple terms, it’s an interaction between light and magnetism,” explains Dr. Capua. “The static magnetic field ‘twists’ the light, and the light, in turn, reveals the magnetic properties of the material. What we’ve found is that the magnetic part of light has a first-order effect, it’s surprisingly active in this process.‘
