Spin-textured orbitals in altermagnetic artificial atoms
Abstract
Artificial atoms provide a versatile platform for engineering atomic-like orbitals, yet spin generally remains a passive degree of freedom in their orbital structure. Here, we introduce the concept of altermagnetic artificial atoms formed by confining electrons with momentum-dependent spin splitting. We show that altermagnetism reconstructs conventional confined orbitals into spin-textured orbitals, with spatially distinct distributions of opposite spin components. The resulting confined spectrum retains a twofold degeneracy protected by the combined C4z𝒯 symmetry. These spin textures persist in higher-energy states, where additional radial structures combine with the characteristic angular spin pattern. Furthermore, strain resolves the degenerate orbital pairs into spin-polarized states, and continuously tunes their energy splitting. Our results establish altermagnetic artificial atoms as a route to engineering spin-dependent orbital structures in quantum-confined systems.
Related
- Electron lattice potentials for ultracold atoms using circular Rydberg orbitals
- Order by Inertia in Spinning Active Matter: Holey Fluids and Spin-Textured Crystals
- Oxygen-centred planar orbitals in the electronic structure and spin-density-wave reconstruction of multilayer nickelates
- Spin Birefringence and Spin Polarized Transmission across p-wave Altermagnetic Heterostructure
- Unconventional SOC-activated Altermagnetic Spin Splitting and Half-Angle Locking of Spin Transport
BibTeX
@misc{mao2026spintextured,
title = {{Spin-textured orbitals in altermagnetic artificial atoms}},
author = {Yue Mao and Yu-Chen Zhuang and Cheng-Ming Miao and Yu-Fei Sun and Qing-Feng Sun},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = aug,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2608.29861},
eprint = {2608.29861},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2608.29861},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Spin-textured orbitals in altermagnetic artificial atoms
AU - Yue Mao
AU - Yu-Chen Zhuang
AU - Cheng-Ming Miao
AU - Yu-Fei Sun
AU - Qing-Feng Sun
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/08/30
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2608.29861
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2608.29861
AB - Artificial atoms provide a versatile platform for engineering atomic-like orbitals, yet spin generally remains a passive degree of freedom in their orbital structure. Here, we introduce the concept of altermagnetic artificial atoms formed by confining electrons with momentum-dependent spin splitting. We show that altermagnetism reconstructs conventional confined orbitals into spin-textured orbitals, with spatially distinct distributions of opposite spin components. The resulting confined spectrum retains a twofold degeneracy protected by the combined C_4z𝒯 symmetry. These spin textures persist in higher-energy states, where additional radial structures combine with the characteristic angular spin pattern. Furthermore, strain resolves the degenerate orbital pairs into spin-polarized states, and continuously tunes their energy splitting. Our results establish altermagnetic artificial atoms as a route to engineering spin-dependent orbital structures in quantum-confined systems.
ER -