Magnetic-field-induced detwinning of orientational domains in altermagnet α-MnTe: A single-crystal neutron diffraction study
Abstract
Altermagnets combine compensated magnetic order with momentum-dependent spin splitting, which makes them promising for future spintronic and magnonic applications, but their macroscopic responses can be strongly reduced by domain averaging. In hexagonal α-MnTe, three symmetry-related in-plane Néel-vector orientations and their time-reversal counterparts form six magnetic domain states, complicating both magnetic structure determination and measurements of the chiral magnon response. Using single-crystal neutron diffraction, we show that an in-plane field applied along the [−1,1,0] direction produces a common magnetic domain orientation that saturates near μ0H=2 T. A constrained refinement of 61 nuclear and magnetic reflections collected at 2 K and 2 T yields M∥[1,1,0], an ordered moment of 4.62(8) μB per Mn, and an orientational domain population at rA:rB:rC=0.97:0.03(5):0 that is compatible with a nearly complete alignment of orientational domains. Furthermore, an abnormal behaviour in the temperature dependence of the selected reflections is observed in 60-88 K, its microscopic origin is discussed within the context of possible intrinsic piezomagnetic or magnetoelastic effects. Because unpolarized diffraction neither distinguishes domain repopulation from continuous Néel-vector rotation nor resolves time-reversal antiphase domains, the field-prepared state is a near-single-orientation state rather than a truly single-domain state. This non-contact domain control provides a practical complement to strain and field-cooling approaches for preparing well-defined magnetic states in bulk α-MnTe.
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BibTeX
@misc{pan2026magneticfieldinduced,
title = {{Magnetic-field-induced detwinning of orientational domains in altermagnet $α$-MnTe: A single-crystal neutron diffraction study}},
author = {Feihao Pan and Yishui Zhou and Sabreen Hammouda and Yinghao Zhu and Soohyeon Shin and Karin Schmalzl and Wolfgang Schmidt and Eric Ressouche and Oscar Fabelo and Yixi Su},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2610.13444},
eprint = {2610.13444},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.13444},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Magnetic-field-induced detwinning of orientational domains in altermagnet α-MnTe: A single-crystal neutron diffraction study
AU - Feihao Pan
AU - Yishui Zhou
AU - Sabreen Hammouda
AU - Yinghao Zhu
AU - Soohyeon Shin
AU - Karin Schmalzl
AU - Wolfgang Schmidt
AU - Eric Ressouche
AU - Oscar Fabelo
AU - Yixi Su
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/09
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2610.13444
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.13444
AB - Altermagnets combine compensated magnetic order with momentum-dependent spin splitting, which makes them promising for future spintronic and magnonic applications, but their macroscopic responses can be strongly reduced by domain averaging. In hexagonal α-MnTe, three symmetry-related in-plane Néel-vector orientations and their time-reversal counterparts form six magnetic domain states, complicating both magnetic structure determination and measurements of the chiral magnon response. Using single-crystal neutron diffraction, we show that an in-plane field applied along the [−1,1,0] direction produces a common magnetic domain orientation that saturates near μ_0H=2 T. A constrained refinement of 61 nuclear and magnetic reflections collected at 2 K and 2 T yields M∥[1,1,0], an ordered moment of 4.62(8) μ_B per Mn, and an orientational domain population at r_A:r_B:r_C=0.97:0.03(5):0 that is compatible with a nearly complete alignment of orientational domains. Furthermore, an abnormal behaviour in the temperature dependence of the selected reflections is observed in 60-88 K, its microscopic origin is discussed within the context of possible intrinsic piezomagnetic or magnetoelastic effects. Because unpolarized diffraction neither distinguishes domain repopulation from continuous Néel-vector rotation nor resolves time-reversal antiphase domains, the field-prepared state is a near-single-orientation state rather than a truly single-domain state. This non-contact domain control provides a practical complement to strain and field-cooling approaches for preparing well-defined magnetic states in bulk α-MnTe.
ER -