Year: 2025
Type: preprint
Abstract: Altermagnets are novel magnetic systems that possess a spin-polarized electronic band structure without a net magnetic moment, making them promising for device applications. Hexagonal MnTe, a prototypical altermagnet, arguably exhibits the most properties consistent with theoretical predictions, including an anomalous Hall effect despite a vanishing net magnetization, and altermagnetinduced electronic band splitting. However, fundamental questions remain, including why some effects only appear significantly below the magnetic ordering temperature. Here, we resolve this discrepancy by revealing a reorientation of the Néel vector in single-crystalline MnTe. The Néel vector points 30° from the a-axis at low $T$, before aligning directly with the a-axis around $T\simeq 260$ K. We attribute this to single-ion anisotropy, which depends on temperature-dependent lattice parameters. We obtained these results using muon-spin spectroscopy, magnetization measurements, and X-ray diffraction; we show that the findings are consistent with neutron diffraction. Manipulating this effect, for example through strain, could unlock sensitive electronic detection schemes for external stimuli, paving the way for functional altermagnetic devices.
Source: arXiv (Cornell University)
Authors: Hicken, Thomas J., Uhlířová, Klára, Reichlová, Helena, Caha, Ondrej, Morano, Vincent C., Amin, Oliver, Din, Alfred Dal, Dil, J. Hugo, Duchan, Marek, Kriegner, Dominik, Luetkens, Hubertus, Maesen, Zeno, Martinek, Jan, Salman, Zaher, Wadley, Peter, Zaharko, Oksana, Krempaský, Juraj, Krieger, Jonas A.
Language: English
Subfield: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W4416839005
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