Anion correlation induced nonrelativistic spin splitting in rutile antiferromagnets
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arXiv
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| Autori principali: | , , , |
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| Natura: | Preprint |
| Pubblicazione: |
2025
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| _version_ | 1866915673131712512 |
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| author | Nathan, Siddhartha S. Puggioni, Danilo Yuan, Linding Rondinelli, James M. |
| author_facet | Nathan, Siddhartha S. Puggioni, Danilo Yuan, Linding Rondinelli, James M. |
| contents | Many studies of non-relativistic spin-splitting (NRSS), or altermagnetism, have focused on idealized, perfectly ordered crystals, relying on symmetry-based approaches to identify candidate materials. Here, we theoretically investigate how local short-range ordering (SRO) influences NRSS of energy bands in partially ordered collinear antiferromagnetic iron oxyfluoride (FeOF). Using the cluster expansion method, we identify four nearly degenerate structures (energy difference $\leq 8$ meV per formula unit) that represent distinct snapshots of local plane-to-plane O/F correlations. Our density functional theory (DFT) results show robust NRSS along the $Γ$-M direction in all four structures, despite the absence of long-range order. The magnitude and character of the splitting depend sensitively on the specific direction of anion correlations, effects that are not fully captured in high-symmetry average structures. Notably, two configurations ($Pmc2_1$ and $Pm$) exhibit $Γ$-point spin splitting absent in ordered FeF$_2$ and a virtual crystal approximation model of FeOF. We further predict distinct magneto-optical Kerr effect (MOKE) signatures, enabling experimental detection of SRO-driven electronic structure changes. These results highlight heteroanionic compounds as a promising design space for NRSS antiferromagnets, with experimentally synthesized FeOF already exhibiting a substantially higher Néel temperature (315\,K) than FeF$_2$ (79\,K). |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2512_12179 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Anion correlation induced nonrelativistic spin splitting in rutile antiferromagnets Nathan, Siddhartha S. Puggioni, Danilo Yuan, Linding Rondinelli, James M. Materials Science Strongly Correlated Electrons Many studies of non-relativistic spin-splitting (NRSS), or altermagnetism, have focused on idealized, perfectly ordered crystals, relying on symmetry-based approaches to identify candidate materials. Here, we theoretically investigate how local short-range ordering (SRO) influences NRSS of energy bands in partially ordered collinear antiferromagnetic iron oxyfluoride (FeOF). Using the cluster expansion method, we identify four nearly degenerate structures (energy difference $\leq 8$ meV per formula unit) that represent distinct snapshots of local plane-to-plane O/F correlations. Our density functional theory (DFT) results show robust NRSS along the $Γ$-M direction in all four structures, despite the absence of long-range order. The magnitude and character of the splitting depend sensitively on the specific direction of anion correlations, effects that are not fully captured in high-symmetry average structures. Notably, two configurations ($Pmc2_1$ and $Pm$) exhibit $Γ$-point spin splitting absent in ordered FeF$_2$ and a virtual crystal approximation model of FeOF. We further predict distinct magneto-optical Kerr effect (MOKE) signatures, enabling experimental detection of SRO-driven electronic structure changes. These results highlight heteroanionic compounds as a promising design space for NRSS antiferromagnets, with experimentally synthesized FeOF already exhibiting a substantially higher Néel temperature (315\,K) than FeF$_2$ (79\,K). |
| title | Anion correlation induced nonrelativistic spin splitting in rutile antiferromagnets |
| topic | Materials Science Strongly Correlated Electrons |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.12179 |