Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 4, 2025
15:58
Measurement of Coherence Decay in GaMnAs Using Femtosecond Four-wave Mixing
Published on: December 3, 2013
5.8K
Broken Kramers Degeneracy in Altermagnetic MnTe
Suyoung Lee1,2, Sangjae Lee3, Saegyeol Jung1,2
1Center for Correlated Electron Systems, Institute for Basic Science, Seoul 08826, Korea.
Physical Review Letters
|February 2, 2024
Summary
Altermagnetism, a novel magnetic state, was experimentally verified in α-MnTe. Researchers observed significant spin splitting in the material
Area of Science:
- Condensed Matter Physics
- Materials Science
- Magnetism
Background:
- Altermagnetism is a recently discovered magnetic state characterized by zero net magnetization and broken time-reversal symmetry.
- Experimental verification of altermagnetism requires probing its unique electronic structure, specifically nonrelativistic spin splitting.
Purpose of the Study:
- To provide direct experimental evidence for the altermagnetic phase in α-manganese telluride (α-MnTe).
- To investigate the electronic structure of α-MnTe and confirm the presence of altermagnetic properties.
Main Methods:
- High-quality thin film growth of α-MnTe.
- In situ angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) to probe electronic structure.
- Temperature-dependent measurements to correlate magnetic transitions with electronic changes.
Main Results:
- Successful synthesis of high-quality α-MnTe films.
- Observation of a magnetic phase transition at T_{N}=267 K.
- Spectroscopic evidence of Kramers degeneracy lifting and significant spin splitting (up to 370 meV) associated with the magnetic transition.
Conclusions:
- The study provides direct spectroscopic evidence confirming the altermagnetic nature of MnTe.
- The observed spin splitting is a key indicator of the broken time-reversal symmetry characteristic of altermagnetism.
- α-MnTe emerges as a promising material for studying and potentially utilizing altermagnetic phenomena.
More Related Videos
09:06Visualizing Uniaxial-strain Manipulation of Antiferromagnetic Domains in Fe1+YTe Using a Spin-polarized Scanning Tunneling Microscope
Published on: March 24, 2019
8.1K
06:53Author Spotlight: Magnetometric Characterization of Intermediates in the Solid-State Electrochemistry of Redox-Active Metal-Organic Frameworks
Published on: June 9, 2023
2.0K
Related Concept Videos
01:30Paramagnetism
2.5K
Paramagnets are materials with unpaired electrons that possess a finite magnetic moment. In the absence of a magnetic field, these moments are randomly oriented, and thus the net moment is zero. Under an external field, a torque acting on the moments tends to align them along the field's direction. However, the random thermal motion of electrons produces a torque opposite to the external field and tries to disorient the moments. These two competing effects align only a few moments along the...
2.5K
01:31Ferromagnetism
2.4K
Materials like iron, nickel, and cobalt consist of magnetic domains, within which the magnetic dipoles are arranged parallel to each other. The magnetic dipoles are rigidly aligned in the same direction within a domain by quantum mechanical coupling among the atoms. This coupling is so strong that even thermal agitation at room temperature cannot break it. The result is that each domain has a net dipole moment. However, some materials have weaker coupling, and are ferromagnetic at lower...
2.4K
01:26Diamagnetism
2.4K
Materials consisting of paired electrons have zero net magnetic moments. However, when these materials are placed under an external magnetic field, the moments opposite to the field are induced. Such materials are called diamagnets. Diamagnetism is the response of the diamagnets when placed in an external magnetic field.
Diamagnetism was discovered by Anton Brugmans in 1778 when he observed that bismuth gets repelled by magnetic fields, thus theorizing that diamagnets get repelled by magnets....
Diamagnetism was discovered by Anton Brugmans in 1778 when he observed that bismuth gets repelled by magnetic fields, thus theorizing that diamagnets get repelled by magnets....
2.4K
01:14Atomic Nuclei: Nuclear Spin State Population Distribution
981
Near absolute zero temperatures, in the presence of a magnetic field, the majority of nuclei prefer the lower energy spin-up state to the higher energy spin-down state. As temperatures increase, the energy from thermal collisions distributes the spins more equally between the two states. The Boltzmann distribution equation gives the ratio of the number of spins predicted in the spin −½ (N−) and spin +½ (N+) states.
981
03:02Colors and Magnetism
11.7K
Color in Coordination Complexes
When atoms or molecules absorb light at the proper frequency, their electrons are excited to higher-energy orbitals. For many main group atoms and molecules, the absorbed photons are in the ultraviolet range of the electromagnetic spectrum, which cannot be detected by the human eye. For coordination compounds, the energy difference between the d orbitals often allows photons in the visible range to be absorbed and emitted, which is seen as colors by the human...
When atoms or molecules absorb light at the proper frequency, their electrons are excited to higher-energy orbitals. For many main group atoms and molecules, the absorbed photons are in the ultraviolet range of the electromagnetic spectrum, which cannot be detected by the human eye. For coordination compounds, the energy difference between the d orbitals often allows photons in the visible range to be absorbed and emitted, which is seen as colors by the human...
11.7K
01:23Atomic Nuclei: Nuclear Relaxation Processes
654
In the absence of an external magnetic field, nuclear spin states are degenerate and randomly oriented. When a magnetic field is applied, the spins begin to precess and orient themselves along (lower energy) or against (higher energy) the direction of the field. At equilibrium, a slight excess population of spins exists in the lower energy state. Because the direction of the magnetic field is fixed as the z-axis, the precessing magnetic moments are randomly oriented around the z-axis.
654