Surface ferrimagnetic order in RuO2 film

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Lu, Jiahua, Chen, Huangzhaoxiang, Zhang, Zhe, Wang, Xinyue, Xie, Donghang, Liu, Bo, He, Liang, Li, Yao, Du, Jun, Wang, Zhi, Luo, Junwei, Zhang, Rong, Xu, Yongbing, Ruan, Xuezhong
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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author Lu, Jiahua
Chen, Huangzhaoxiang
Zhang, Zhe
Wang, Xinyue
Xie, Donghang
Liu, Bo
He, Liang
Li, Yao
Du, Jun
Wang, Zhi
Luo, Junwei
Zhang, Rong
Xu, Yongbing
Ruan, Xuezhong
author_facet Lu, Jiahua
Chen, Huangzhaoxiang
Zhang, Zhe
Wang, Xinyue
Xie, Donghang
Liu, Bo
He, Liang
Li, Yao
Du, Jun
Wang, Zhi
Luo, Junwei
Zhang, Rong
Xu, Yongbing
Ruan, Xuezhong
contents RuO2, widely proposed as a prototypical altermagnet, remains intensely debated with regard to its magnetic nature. Here, we demonstrate that RuO2 is non-magnetic in the bulk, but possesses a spontaneous surface ferrimagnetic order. Using spin- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, we directly detect a narrow surface state with identical spin polarizations at opposite momenta and at the Brillouin-zone center, incompatible with the spin texture of any altermagnetic order. First-principles calculations identify the non-magnetic bulk state and reveal that the detected magnetism is confined to the fully oxygen-terminated surface, where the charge transfer from Ru to O at surface triggers a ferrimagnetic alignment between adjacent Ru sublattices with antiparallel moments of +0.48 uB and -0.04 uB. Our findings provide a unified explanation reconciling debating reports on the magnetism of RuO2, establishing surface ferrimagnetism as the origin of the observed magnetic signals, and distinguishing it unambiguously from altermagnetism.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2604_10659
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Surface ferrimagnetic order in RuO2 film
Lu, Jiahua
Chen, Huangzhaoxiang
Zhang, Zhe
Wang, Xinyue
Xie, Donghang
Liu, Bo
He, Liang
Li, Yao
Du, Jun
Wang, Zhi
Luo, Junwei
Zhang, Rong
Xu, Yongbing
Ruan, Xuezhong
Materials Science
Other Condensed Matter
RuO2, widely proposed as a prototypical altermagnet, remains intensely debated with regard to its magnetic nature. Here, we demonstrate that RuO2 is non-magnetic in the bulk, but possesses a spontaneous surface ferrimagnetic order. Using spin- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, we directly detect a narrow surface state with identical spin polarizations at opposite momenta and at the Brillouin-zone center, incompatible with the spin texture of any altermagnetic order. First-principles calculations identify the non-magnetic bulk state and reveal that the detected magnetism is confined to the fully oxygen-terminated surface, where the charge transfer from Ru to O at surface triggers a ferrimagnetic alignment between adjacent Ru sublattices with antiparallel moments of +0.48 uB and -0.04 uB. Our findings provide a unified explanation reconciling debating reports on the magnetism of RuO2, establishing surface ferrimagnetism as the origin of the observed magnetic signals, and distinguishing it unambiguously from altermagnetism.
title Surface ferrimagnetic order in RuO2 film
topic Materials Science
Other Condensed Matter
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.10659