Band splitting in altermagnet CrSb

Abstract

Altermegnets are a class of metallic magnets characterized by spin-split electron bands. Band splitting in the hexagonal altermagnet CrSb was studied using the ARPES method, magnetotransport and torque measurements, combined with DFT+U calculations. The shape, position, and even symmetry of the Fermi surfaces found in these studies vary. The developed approach, based on symmetry considerations, allows us to establish several general properties of band splitting in the altermagnet CrSb, including the symmetry of the spin distribution in each electron band, the symmetry of the bands in an external magnetic field, and the dependence of the frequencies and amplitudes of quantum oscillations on the magnetic field.

Figures (3)

• Figure 1: Crystalline and magnetic structures of CrSb. Black dots represent magnetic Cr ions, open circles represent nonmagnetic Sb ions.
• Figure 2: Brillouin zone.
• Figure 3: Configuration of spins directions in reciprocal space. It is invariant in respect of all operations of group (\ref{['alt']}). To each direction of momentum $\hat{\bf k}=\hat{x}\cos\varphi+\hat{y}\sin\varphi$ corresponds the spin direction $\hat{\bf s}=\hat{x}\cos 2\varphi-\hat{y}\sin2\varphi$.