4.6 Article

Strong influence of nonmagnetic ligands on the momentum-dependent spin splitting in antiferromagnets

Journal

PHYSICAL REVIEW B
Volume 103, Issue 22, Pages -

Publisher

AMER PHYSICAL SOC
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevB.103.224410

Keywords

-

Funding

  1. National Science Foundation (NSF) Division of Materials Research, Electronic and Photonic Materials program (DMR-EPM) [DMR-1806939]
  2. US Department of Energy, Office of Science, Basic Energy Sciences, Materials Sciences and Engineering Division [DE-SC0010467]
  3. National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) [61888102]
  4. National Science Foundation [ACI-1548562]
  5. Office of Science of the US Department of Energy

Ask authors/readers for more resources

Recent studies indicate that nonrelativistic antiferromagnetic ordering may lead to momentum-dependent spin splitting similar to the Rashba effect, without requiring relativistic spin-orbit coupling. By constructing model Hamiltonians, researchers have been able to investigate the variations in spin splitting under constant chemistry conditions. This shift in paradigm allows for a deeper understanding of the underlying factors influencing spin splitting in diverse compounds.
Recent studies show the nonrelativistic antiferromagnetic ordering could generate momentum-dependent spin splitting analogous to the Rashba effect but free from the requirement of relativistic spin-orbit coupling. Whereas the classification of such compounds can be illustrated by different spin-splitting prototypes (SSTs) from symmetry analysis and density-functional-theory calculations, the huge variation in chemical bonding and structures of these diverse compounds possibly clouds the issue of how much of the variation in spin splitting can be traced back to the symmetry-defined characteristics, rather to the underlining chemical and structural diversity. The alternative model Hamiltonian approaches do not confront the issues of chemical and structural complexity but often consider only the magnetic sublattice, dealing with the all-important effects of the nonmagnetic ligands via renormalizing the interactions between the magnetic sites. To this end, we constructed a DP1 model Hamiltonian that allows us to study SSTs at constant chemistry while retaining the realistic atomic-scale structure including ligands. This is accomplished by using a single, universal magnetic skeletal lattice (Ni2+ ions in rocksalt NiO) and designing small displacements of the nonmagnetic (oxygen) sublattice which produce, by design, the different SST magnetic symmetries. We show that (i) even similar crystal structures having very similar band structures can lead to contrasting behavior of spin splitting vs momentum, and (ii) even subtle deformations of the nonmagnetic ligand sublattice could cause a giant spin splitting in AFM-induced SST. This is a paradigm shift relative to the convention of modeling magnets without considering the nonmagnetic ligand that mediates indirect magnetic interaction (e.g., superexchange).

Authors

I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.

Reviews

Primary Rating

4.6
Not enough ratings

Secondary Ratings

Novelty
-
Significance
-
Scientific rigor
-
Rate this paper

Recommended

No Data Available
No Data Available