{
  "abstract": "Symmetry is usually viewed as a constraint on physical responses, but it can also be used to design the fields that control them. Here, we adopt the representation-matching principle used to identify conjugate fields of order parameters and apply it to response tensors. A linear coupling, the key ingredient for sign-switching control, is symmetry-allowed when a component (or a combination of components) of the control field and the selected response component share the same irreducible representation of the magnetic point group (MPG) of the system. Applied to the magneto-optical Kerr effect, this principle yields a piezo-Kerr effect, in which specific strain combinations activate a Kerr response forbidden in the unstrained state. Enumerating all 122 MPGs, we identify 16 groups in which the unstrained Kerr response is forbidden while a linear strain-induced contribution is allowed. These groups are realized by altermagnets and noncollinear antiferromagnets with symmetry-enforced vanishing net magnetization. The active strain channels and the associated first-order sign reversals follow directly from symmetry. First-principles calculations for bulk MnTe$_{2}$ and CoF$_{2}$, and Cr$_{2}$Se$_{2}$O and Cr$_{2}$Te$_{2}$O monolayers confirm these predictions. In these materials, the Kerr rotation vanishes without strain, whereas 0.5-3% strain produces rotations ranging from tens to hundreds of millidegrees, and reversing the matched strain channel reverses the Kerr sign. These results establish a general route to large and switchable Kerr responses emerging from symmetry-forbidden states in compensated magnets.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": "2610.30929",
  "author_total": 7,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "Yuqi Liu"
    },
    {
      "name": "Qiu-Shi Huang"
    },
    {
      "name": "Xinfeng Chen"
    },
    {
      "name": "Yilin Han"
    },
    {
      "name": "Run-Wu Zhang"
    },
    {
      "name": "Zhi-Ming Yu"
    },
    {
      "name": "Yugui Yao"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/04ka5nmwxdxke.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.48550/arxiv.2610.30929",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "04ka5nmwxdxke",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.30929",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "LicenseRef-arXiv-nonexclusive-1.0",
  "licence_label": "arXiv licence",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "http://arxiv.org/licenses/nonexclusive-distrib/1.0/",
  "metadata_licence": "CC0-1.0",
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "arxiv",
      "cond-mat.mes-hall"
    ],
    [
      "arxiv",
      "cond-mat.mtrl-sci"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "3107|Magnetic properties of thin films"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7223408323",
  "pdf_url": "https://arxiv.org/pdf/2610.30929",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-22",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/04ka5nmwxdxke.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:34:34Z",
      "native_id": "2610.30929",
      "source": "arxiv",
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.30929"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "physics",
      "origin": "arxiv:cond-mat.mes-hall",
      "subfield": "condensed-matter"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Piezo-Kerr effect in altermagnets and noncollinear antiferromagnets",
  "title_text": "Piezo-Kerr effect in altermagnets and noncollinear antiferromagnets",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:34:34Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/04ka5nmwxdxke",
  "venue": "arXiv",
  "versions": []
}