Ferroically Ordered Magnetic Octupoles in d-Wave Altermagnets
We show that time-reversal symmetry-broken, centrosymmetric antiferromagnets with nonrelativistic spin splitting of d-wave symmetry—the so-called d-wave altermagnets—are conveniently described in terms of the ferroic ordering of magnetic octupoles. The magnetic octupoles are the lowest-order ferroic...
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
American Physical Society
2024-02-01
|
| Series: | Physical Review X |
| Online Access: | http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevX.14.011019 |
| _version_ | 1797305339982381056 |
|---|---|
| author | Sayantika Bhowal Nicola A. Spaldin |
| author_facet | Sayantika Bhowal Nicola A. Spaldin |
| author_sort | Sayantika Bhowal |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | We show that time-reversal symmetry-broken, centrosymmetric antiferromagnets with nonrelativistic spin splitting of d-wave symmetry—the so-called d-wave altermagnets—are conveniently described in terms of the ferroic ordering of magnetic octupoles. The magnetic octupoles are the lowest-order ferroically ordered magnetic quantity in this case and so are the natural order parameter for the transition into the magnetically ordered state. They provide a unified description of the broken time-reversal symmetry and the nonrelativistic spin splitting, as well as a platform for manipulating the latter, and account for other phenomena, such as piezomagnetism, characteristic of this class of antiferromagnets. Unusually for antiferromagnets, we show that the magnetic octupoles cause a nonzero magnetic Compton scattering, providing a route for their direct experimental detection. We illustrate these concepts using density-functional and model calculations for the prototypical nonrelativistic spin-split antiferromagnet, rutile-structure manganese difluoride MnF_{2}. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T00:25:26Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0c8c0a59da0543c99a78d482e226286a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2160-3308 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T00:25:26Z |
| publishDate | 2024-02-01 |
| publisher | American Physical Society |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Physical Review X |
| spelling | doaj.art-0c8c0a59da0543c99a78d482e226286a2024-02-15T18:33:17ZengAmerican Physical SocietyPhysical Review X2160-33082024-02-0114101101910.1103/PhysRevX.14.011019Ferroically Ordered Magnetic Octupoles in d-Wave AltermagnetsSayantika BhowalNicola A. SpaldinWe show that time-reversal symmetry-broken, centrosymmetric antiferromagnets with nonrelativistic spin splitting of d-wave symmetry—the so-called d-wave altermagnets—are conveniently described in terms of the ferroic ordering of magnetic octupoles. The magnetic octupoles are the lowest-order ferroically ordered magnetic quantity in this case and so are the natural order parameter for the transition into the magnetically ordered state. They provide a unified description of the broken time-reversal symmetry and the nonrelativistic spin splitting, as well as a platform for manipulating the latter, and account for other phenomena, such as piezomagnetism, characteristic of this class of antiferromagnets. Unusually for antiferromagnets, we show that the magnetic octupoles cause a nonzero magnetic Compton scattering, providing a route for their direct experimental detection. We illustrate these concepts using density-functional and model calculations for the prototypical nonrelativistic spin-split antiferromagnet, rutile-structure manganese difluoride MnF_{2}.http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevX.14.011019 |
| spellingShingle | Sayantika Bhowal Nicola A. Spaldin Ferroically Ordered Magnetic Octupoles in d-Wave Altermagnets Physical Review X |
| title | Ferroically Ordered Magnetic Octupoles in d-Wave Altermagnets |
| title_full | Ferroically Ordered Magnetic Octupoles in d-Wave Altermagnets |
| title_fullStr | Ferroically Ordered Magnetic Octupoles in d-Wave Altermagnets |
| title_full_unstemmed | Ferroically Ordered Magnetic Octupoles in d-Wave Altermagnets |
| title_short | Ferroically Ordered Magnetic Octupoles in d-Wave Altermagnets |
| title_sort | ferroically ordered magnetic octupoles in d wave altermagnets |
| url | http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevX.14.011019 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT sayantikabhowal ferroicallyorderedmagneticoctupolesindwavealtermagnets AT nicolaaspaldin ferroicallyorderedmagneticoctupolesindwavealtermagnets |