Topological Weyl altermagnetism in CrSb

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Cong Li - , KTH Royal Institute of Technology (Author)
  • Mengli Hu - , Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research Dresden (Author)
  • Zhilin Li - , CAS - Institute of Physics (Author)
  • Yang Wang - , KTH Royal Institute of Technology (Author)
  • Wanyu Chen - , KTH Royal Institute of Technology (Author)
  • Balasubramanian Thiagarajan - , Lund University (Author)
  • Mats Leandersson - , Lund University (Author)
  • Craig Polley - , Lund University (Author)
  • Timur Kim - , Diamond Light Source (Author)
  • Hui Liu - , Stockholm University (Author)
  • Cosma Fulga - , Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research Dresden, Würzburg-Dresden Cluster of Excellence ct.qmat (Author)
  • Maia G. Vergniory - , Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids, Donostia International Physics Center (Author)
  • Oleg Janson - , Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research Dresden (Author)
  • Oscar Tjernberg - , KTH Royal Institute of Technology (Author)
  • Jeroen van den Brink - , Clusters of Excellence ct.qmat: Complexity and Topology in Quantum Matter, Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research Dresden (Author)

Abstract

Altermagnets constitute a novel, third fundamental class of collinear magnetic ordered materials, alongside with ferro- and antiferromagnets. They share with conventional antiferromagnets the feature of a vanishing net magnetization. At the same time they show a spin-splitting of electronic bands, just as in ferromagnets, caused by the atomic exchange interaction. On the other hand, topology has recently revolutionized our understanding of condensed matter physics, introducing new phases of matter classified by intrinsic topological order. Here we connect the worlds of altermagnetism and topology, showing that the electronic structure of the altermagnet CrSb is topological. Using high-resolution angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, we observe the large momentum-dependent spin-splitting in CrSb that induces altermagnetic Weyl nodes. We observe the related topological Fermi-arcs, which in electronic structure calculations are spin polarized. This indicates that in altermagnets the large energy scale intrinsic to their spin-splitting creates its own realm of robust electronic topology.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Article number311
JournalCommunications Physics
Volume8
Issue number1
Publication statusPublished - Dec 2025
Peer-reviewedYes

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas