Quantum Geometric Origin of Nonlinear Current Induced Orbital Magnetization
Abstract
Electric generation of magnetization is a focus of condensed matter research, and has recently been advanced into the nonlinear regime. However, due to the nonlocal nature of orbital magnetism, how to properly formulate nonlinear current-induced orbital magnetization remains a fundamental challenge. Here, we develop the proper theory for this effect. This is based on the microscopic derivation of field-corrected orbital magnetic moment of a Bloch electron, a critical missing piece in the present theory. We show that the quantum geometric origin of this phenomenon lies in both the anomalous orbital polarizability and the Berry-connection polarizability, which often provide competing contributions. Combining our theory with first-principles calculations, we predict significant, experimentally accessible nonlinear orbital magnetization generated in strained bilayer graphene, monolayer 1T' MoS2 and MoTe2. Remarkably, nonlinear orbital magnetization can dominate over its spin counterpart in materials with topological band features, irrespective of the spin-orbit coupling strength.
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BibTeX
@misc{zhang2026quantum,
title = {{Quantum Geometric Origin of Nonlinear Current Induced Orbital Magnetization}},
author = {Xue-Jin Zhang and Yue-Xin Huang and Wei Du and Xiaolong Feng and Shen Lai and Cong Xiao and Qian Niu and Shengyuan A. Yang},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = aug,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2608.28231},
eprint = {2608.28231},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2608.28231},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Quantum Geometric Origin of Nonlinear Current Induced Orbital Magnetization
AU - Xue-Jin Zhang
AU - Yue-Xin Huang
AU - Wei Du
AU - Xiaolong Feng
AU - Shen Lai
AU - Cong Xiao
AU - Qian Niu
AU - Shengyuan A. Yang
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/08/28
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2608.28231
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2608.28231
AB - Electric generation of magnetization is a focus of condensed matter research, and has recently been advanced into the nonlinear regime. However, due to the nonlocal nature of orbital magnetism, how to properly formulate nonlinear current-induced orbital magnetization remains a fundamental challenge. Here, we develop the proper theory for this effect. This is based on the microscopic derivation of field-corrected orbital magnetic moment of a Bloch electron, a critical missing piece in the present theory. We show that the quantum geometric origin of this phenomenon lies in both the anomalous orbital polarizability and the Berry-connection polarizability, which often provide competing contributions. Combining our theory with first-principles calculations, we predict significant, experimentally accessible nonlinear orbital magnetization generated in strained bilayer graphene, monolayer 1T' MoS_2 and MoTe_2. Remarkably, nonlinear orbital magnetization can dominate over its spin counterpart in materials with topological band features, irrespective of the spin-orbit coupling strength.
ER -