In real-world conditions, obviously, magnets aren't maintained at absolute zero, and when temperatures rise or under other conditions, such as the influence of an external magnetic field, the magnetic moments change direction. At high enough temperature, the moments become randomly disordered, canceling each other and eliminating the magnetic field. The objective of LSMS is to track such disordered magnetic states, called noncollinear magnetism. DFT alone, however, can only solve aligned states of magnetism. The method keeps track of how a change in the magnetic moment of one atom affects other atoms in the vicinity, and solves Schrodinger's equation, the fundamental equation of quantum theory, for each atom of the unit cell.
Color indicates vector magnitude.
Their work is basic research, aimed not at technology per se but at new scientific understanding. At the same time, however, the potential to help bring about significant new technologies is real. Even small improvements in the information density of magnetic-storage devices, for instance, could radically transform computing.