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| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Preprint |
| Published: |
2025
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.01964 |
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Table of Contents:
- Altermagnetism, an emergent magnetic phase featuring compensated collinear magnetic moments and momentum-dependent spin splittings, has recently garnered widespread interest. A critical issue concerns whether the unconventional spin structures can generate spontaneous electric polarization in altermagnets, thereby achieving type-II multiferroicity. Here, with the combination of symmetry analysis and microscopic theory, we explicitly demonstrate the generation of electric polarization by altermagnetic Néel order, and establish a microscopic mechanism of Néel-order-locked electric polarization in altermagnetic multiferroics.~We further reveal these pronounced magnetoelectric coupling behaviors and classify them into eight distinct categories for two-dimensional altermagnets governed by layer group symmetries. Then we take monolayer MgFe$_2$N$_2$ as a prototypical example of altermagnetic type-II multiferroics by first-principles calculations. We also propose to identify the Néel order and accompanying electric polarization in altermagnetic multiferroics by magneto-optical microscopy. Bridging type-II multiferroics and altermagnets, our work could pave the way for altermagnetic multifunctional spintronics.