Electrical manipulation of centrosymmetric antiferromagnets by Néel Torque

Electric control of N'eel vector is a central task of antiferromagnetic (AFM) spintronics. The major scheme so far has relied on the N'eel spin-orbit torque, which however is restricted to AFMs with broken inversion symmetry. Here, we explore a nonlinear N'eel torque, uniquely enabling electric control in the vast class of centrosymmetric AFMs including altermagnets, where the existing scheme fails. This new type of N'eel torque operates in both AFM metals and insulators, and can appear in all collinear AFM configurations in all the 122 magnetic point groups. Combined with first-principles calculations, we predict significant effects in centrosymmetric AFMs MnRh, MnBi$_{2}$Te$_{4}$ and altermagnet CrSb. Our work offers a new and general strategy for N'eel torque, significantly broadens the scope of electric control of AFM systems, and opens a new arena in the field of AFM spintronics.