Konwersatorium Wydziału Fizyki UW/ Faculty of Physics UW Colloquium, prof. Jeroen van den Brink

27.05.2024, What are altermagnets and why are they special?
prof. Jeroen van den Brink,
Institute for Theoretical Solid State Physics, IFW Dresden, Helmholtzstr. 20, 01069 Dresden, Germany
Abstract
Recently altermagnets have been established as having an unusual combination of ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic properties and a promising playground for spintronics. These materials have a zero net magnetisation, like antiferromagnets, but yet a spin-splitting of electronic bands, as ferromagnets do. From ab initio calculations we have identified around 60 altermagnetic materials and will discuss several physical properties that render them different from other magnetic materials. These include certain spin and heat transport features as well as piezomagnetic responses. By symmetry in principle also an anomalous Hall effect (AHE) is allowed in certain altermagnets and we discuss a model in which the emergence of an AHE is driven by interactions.