Nonmagnetic Ground State of Rutile RuO$_2$ from Diffusion Quantum Monte Carlo

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Ahn, Jeonghwan, Kang, Seoung-Hun, Ganesh, Panchapakesan, Krogel, Jaron T.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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author Ahn, Jeonghwan
Kang, Seoung-Hun
Ganesh, Panchapakesan
Krogel, Jaron T.
author_facet Ahn, Jeonghwan
Kang, Seoung-Hun
Ganesh, Panchapakesan
Krogel, Jaron T.
contents Rutile RuO$_2$ has been proposed as an altermagnet, but its bulk magnetic ground state is still under debate because density-functional calculations give conflicting predictions. Using fixed-node diffusion quantum Monte Carlo, we find that stoichiometric bulk RuO$_2$ is nonmagnetic in the pristine structure, lying 23(9) meV per formula unit below the lowest antiferromagnetic state considered. A 3$\%$ compressive strain instead stabilizes antiferromagnetism, placing RuO$_2$ near a strain-tunable magnetic instability and helping reconcile apparently conflicting experimental reports.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2603_16125
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Nonmagnetic Ground State of Rutile RuO$_2$ from Diffusion Quantum Monte Carlo
Ahn, Jeonghwan
Kang, Seoung-Hun
Ganesh, Panchapakesan
Krogel, Jaron T.
Materials Science
Rutile RuO$_2$ has been proposed as an altermagnet, but its bulk magnetic ground state is still under debate because density-functional calculations give conflicting predictions. Using fixed-node diffusion quantum Monte Carlo, we find that stoichiometric bulk RuO$_2$ is nonmagnetic in the pristine structure, lying 23(9) meV per formula unit below the lowest antiferromagnetic state considered. A 3$\%$ compressive strain instead stabilizes antiferromagnetism, placing RuO$_2$ near a strain-tunable magnetic instability and helping reconcile apparently conflicting experimental reports.
title Nonmagnetic Ground State of Rutile RuO$_2$ from Diffusion Quantum Monte Carlo
topic Materials Science
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.16125