Symmetry-Based Transport Criterion and Robust Design for RuO2-type Altermagnets
Abstract
Altermagnetism combines vanishing net magnetization with momentum-dependent spin splitting, enabling spin-transport functionalities without ferromagnetism. Although rutile RuO2 has been proposed as a d-wave altermagnet, its magnetic ground state remains highly controversial. Moreover, existing transport verifications suffer from severe ambiguity due to the entanglement of spin-splitting effects and time-reversal-even spin-Hall contributions. Here, we introduce a two-pronged strategy to break the current verification impasse. First, we establish a definitive, symmetry-based transport criterion: by identifying specific crystallographic geometries where the spin-Hall background is strictly forbidden, we provide a zero-background window for unambiguous altermagnetic detection. Concurrently, to bypass the uncertain bulk energetics, we propose the RuO2/MnO2 superlattice as a prototypical platform to robustly enforce the d-wave altermagnetic order via interfacial magnetic proximity. Within this platform, symmetry-resolved spin-transport analysis reveals unconventional responses, including collinear spin currents enabling field-free magnetization switching and sizable spin-polarized charge currents. By combining a universal transport criterion with a robustly engineered material platform, our work transcends the debates over bulk properties, providing an actionable, definitive experimental roadmap for verifying d-wave altermagnetism.
Related
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BibTeX
@misc{li2026symmetrybased,
title = {{Symmetry-Based Transport Criterion and Robust Design for RuO$_2$-type Altermagnets}},
author = {Zhaoqing Li and Yi Liu and Yizheng Wu and Zhe Yuan},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2611.01944},
eprint = {2611.01944},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2611.01944},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Symmetry-Based Transport Criterion and Robust Design for RuO_2-type Altermagnets
AU - Zhaoqing Li
AU - Yi Liu
AU - Yizheng Wu
AU - Zhe Yuan
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/01
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2611.01944
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2611.01944
AB - Altermagnetism combines vanishing net magnetization with momentum-dependent spin splitting, enabling spin-transport functionalities without ferromagnetism. Although rutile RuO_2 has been proposed as a d-wave altermagnet, its magnetic ground state remains highly controversial. Moreover, existing transport verifications suffer from severe ambiguity due to the entanglement of spin-splitting effects and time-reversal-even spin-Hall contributions. Here, we introduce a two-pronged strategy to break the current verification impasse. First, we establish a definitive, symmetry-based transport criterion: by identifying specific crystallographic geometries where the spin-Hall background is strictly forbidden, we provide a zero-background window for unambiguous altermagnetic detection. Concurrently, to bypass the uncertain bulk energetics, we propose the RuO_2/MnO_2 superlattice as a prototypical platform to robustly enforce the d-wave altermagnetic order via interfacial magnetic proximity. Within this platform, symmetry-resolved spin-transport analysis reveals unconventional responses, including collinear spin currents enabling field-free magnetization switching and sizable spin-polarized charge currents. By combining a universal transport criterion with a robustly engineered material platform, our work transcends the debates over bulk properties, providing an actionable, definitive experimental roadmap for verifying d-wave altermagnetism.
ER -