Spin and Orbital Magnetism by Light in Rutile Altermagnets

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Adamantopoulos, T., Merte, M., Freimuth, F., Go, D., Ležaić, M., Feng, W., Yao, Y., Sinova, J., Šmejkal, L., Blügel, S., Mokrousov, Y.
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2024
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author Adamantopoulos, T.
Merte, M.
Freimuth, F.
Go, D.
Ležaić, M.
Feng, W.
Yao, Y.
Sinova, J.
Šmejkal, L.
Blügel, S.
Mokrousov, Y.
author_facet Adamantopoulos, T.
Merte, M.
Freimuth, F.
Go, D.
Ležaić, M.
Feng, W.
Yao, Y.
Sinova, J.
Šmejkal, L.
Blügel, S.
Mokrousov, Y.
contents While the understanding of altermagnetism is still at a very early stage, it is expected to play a role in various fields of condensed matter research, for example spintronics, caloritronics and superconductivity. In the field of optical magnetism, it is still unclear to which extent altermagnets as a class can exhibit a distinct behavior. Here we choose RuO$_2$, a prototype metallic altermagnet with a giant spin splitting, and CoF$_2$, an experimentally known insulating altermagnet, to study the light-induced magnetism in rutile altermagnets from first-principles. We demonstrate that in the non-relativisic limit the allowed sublattice-resolved orbital response exhibits symmetries, imposed by altermagnetism, which lead to a drastic canting of light-induced moments. On the other hand, we find that inclusion of spin-orbit interaction enhances the overall effect drastically, introduces a significant anisotropy with respect to the light polarization and strongly suppresses the canting of induced moments. Remarkably, we observe that the moments induced by linearly-polarized laser pulses in light altermagnets can even exceed in magnitude those predicted for heavy ferromagnets exposed to circularly polarized light. By resorting to microscopic tools we interpret our results in terms of the altermagnetic spin splittings and of their reciprocal space distribution. Based on our findings, we speculate that optical excitations may provide a unique tool to switch and probe the magnetic state of rutile altermagnets.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2403_10235
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Spin and Orbital Magnetism by Light in Rutile Altermagnets
Adamantopoulos, T.
Merte, M.
Freimuth, F.
Go, D.
Ležaić, M.
Feng, W.
Yao, Y.
Sinova, J.
Šmejkal, L.
Blügel, S.
Mokrousov, Y.
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
Materials Science
While the understanding of altermagnetism is still at a very early stage, it is expected to play a role in various fields of condensed matter research, for example spintronics, caloritronics and superconductivity. In the field of optical magnetism, it is still unclear to which extent altermagnets as a class can exhibit a distinct behavior. Here we choose RuO$_2$, a prototype metallic altermagnet with a giant spin splitting, and CoF$_2$, an experimentally known insulating altermagnet, to study the light-induced magnetism in rutile altermagnets from first-principles. We demonstrate that in the non-relativisic limit the allowed sublattice-resolved orbital response exhibits symmetries, imposed by altermagnetism, which lead to a drastic canting of light-induced moments. On the other hand, we find that inclusion of spin-orbit interaction enhances the overall effect drastically, introduces a significant anisotropy with respect to the light polarization and strongly suppresses the canting of induced moments. Remarkably, we observe that the moments induced by linearly-polarized laser pulses in light altermagnets can even exceed in magnitude those predicted for heavy ferromagnets exposed to circularly polarized light. By resorting to microscopic tools we interpret our results in terms of the altermagnetic spin splittings and of their reciprocal space distribution. Based on our findings, we speculate that optical excitations may provide a unique tool to switch and probe the magnetic state of rutile altermagnets.
title Spin and Orbital Magnetism by Light in Rutile Altermagnets
topic Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
Materials Science
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2403.10235