Three-dimensional mapping of the altermagnetic spin splitting in CrSb.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 39920139.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-025-56647-7 and PMC identifier 11805911.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Altermagnetism, a kind of collinear magnetism that is characterized by a momentum-dependent band and spin splitting without net magnetization, has recently attracted considerable interest. Finding altermagnetic materials with large splitting near the Fermi level necessarily requires three-dimensional k-space mapping. While this is crucial for spintronic applications and emergent phenomena, it remains challenging. Here, using synchrotron-based angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES), spin-resolved ARPES and model calculations, we uncover a large altermagnetic splitting, up to ~1.0 eV, near the Fermi level in CrSb. We verify its bulk-type g-wave altermagnetism through systematic three-dimensional k-space mapping, which unambiguously reveals the altermagnetic symmetry and associated nodal planes. Spin-resolved ARPES measurements further verify the spin polarizations of the split bands near Fermi level. Tight-binding model analysis indicates that the large altermagnetic splitting arises from strong third-nearest-neighbor hopping mediated by Sb ions. The large band/spin splitting near Fermi level in metallic CrSb, together with its high T<sub>N</sub> (up to 705 K) and simple spin configuration, paves the way for exploring emergent phenomena and spintronic applications based on altermagnets.