Persistent spin textures, altermagnetism and charge-to-spin conversion in metallic chiral crystals TM₃X₆

Area of Science:

• Condensed matter physics
• Materials science
• Spintronics

Background:

• Chiral crystals lack inversion and mirror symmetries, leading to unique spin responses.
• Persistent spin textures (PST) are unidirectional spin polarizations across reciprocal space.

Purpose of the Study:

• Investigate PST in the chiral dichalcogenide family TM3X6.
• Explore charge-to-spin conversion and spin transport properties.
• Analyze magnetic ground states and spin textures in relation to altermagnetism.

Main Methods:

• First-principles calculations
• Symmetry analysis
• Experimental characterization (implied)

Main Results:

• TM3X6 materials exhibit PST covering the full Fermi surface in their nonmagnetic metallic phase.
• PST enables efficient charge-to-spin conversion and suggests long spin lifetimes.
• Antiferromagnetic ordering leads to chiral altermagnetism, with spin textures dependent on Néel vector orientation.

Conclusions:

• TM3X6 materials are a tunable platform for efficient charge-to-spin conversion and spin transport.
• The combination of structural chirality, PST, and altermagnetism offers novel spintronic functionalities.
• Spin transport signatures can distinguish Néel vector directions in these materials.