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| Format: | Preprint |
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2026
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| Online Access: | https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.15606 |
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| _version_ | 1866918342971883520 |
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| author | Meinert, Markus |
| author_facet | Meinert, Markus |
| contents | The magnetic groundstate of RuO$_2$ remains controversial, with experimental evidence for a nonmagnetic groundstate of ideal bulk material and indications of a magnetic state in strained thin films. Here, I investigate the Néel temperature of the (hypothetical) altermagnetic state of bulk RuO$_2$, stabilized via the DFT$+U$ technique, by mapping on a Heisenberg Hamiltonian. The Néel temperature scales monotonously with the magnetic moment up to the point where a large $+U$ term opens a band gap and turns RuO$_2$ semiconducting. The maximum Néel temperature obtained by this procedure is 408\,K at $U=3$\,eV, and much smaller values for smaller $U$. A reciprocal-space eigenvalue analysis reveals a helimagnetic groundstate of the spin model due to intra-sublattice antiferromagnetic coupling. This situation resembles the isostructural $β$-MnO$_2$, which is a prototype helimagnet. Further comparison with calculations on CrO$_2$ and altermagnetic MnF$_2$ taking $U$ as an adjustable parameter supports the validity of the spin model analysis. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2602_15606 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Neel temperature and helical spin order of altermagnetic RuO2 Meinert, Markus Materials Science The magnetic groundstate of RuO$_2$ remains controversial, with experimental evidence for a nonmagnetic groundstate of ideal bulk material and indications of a magnetic state in strained thin films. Here, I investigate the Néel temperature of the (hypothetical) altermagnetic state of bulk RuO$_2$, stabilized via the DFT$+U$ technique, by mapping on a Heisenberg Hamiltonian. The Néel temperature scales monotonously with the magnetic moment up to the point where a large $+U$ term opens a band gap and turns RuO$_2$ semiconducting. The maximum Néel temperature obtained by this procedure is 408\,K at $U=3$\,eV, and much smaller values for smaller $U$. A reciprocal-space eigenvalue analysis reveals a helimagnetic groundstate of the spin model due to intra-sublattice antiferromagnetic coupling. This situation resembles the isostructural $β$-MnO$_2$, which is a prototype helimagnet. Further comparison with calculations on CrO$_2$ and altermagnetic MnF$_2$ taking $U$ as an adjustable parameter supports the validity of the spin model analysis. |
| title | Neel temperature and helical spin order of altermagnetic RuO2 |
| topic | Materials Science |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.15606 |