Conditions for Altermagnetism in RuO2
Abstract
The magnetic ground state of rutile RuO2 remains disputed, raising a central question: under what structural and chemical conditions can this material support altermagnetism? We address this question by combining a critical assessment of experimental and theoretical studies with first-principles calculations of epitaxial strain, point defects, doping, and interfaces. Bulk-sensitive measurements reported in the literature are consistent with a nonmagnetic ground state, while magnetic signatures in thin films depend strongly on their structural environment and do not necessarily establish homogeneous altermagnetic order. Our calculations identify substrate-imposed epitaxial strain as the leading factor favoring altermagnetism among the conditions examined and predict several substrate-orientation combinations that stabilize an altermagnetic ground state. Carrier doping and chemical substitution modify this strain-induced magnetism in distinct ways. Uniform hole doping strengthens the magnetic tendency, whereas Ru vacancies provide little benefit and can weaken the magnetic state through local structural distortions. Cr or Mn substitution, by contrast, enhances Ru magnetic moments and further stabilizes the strained altermagnetic phase. These results distinguish the effects of carrier doping from those of local structural and chemical changes and identify concrete routes to realizing altermagnetism in RuO2 films.
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BibTeX
@misc{mavani2026conditions,
title = {{Conditions for Altermagnetism in RuO2}},
author = {Himanshu Mavani and Zhonglin He and Evgeny Y. Tsymbal},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2610.07494},
eprint = {2610.07494},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.07494},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Conditions for Altermagnetism in RuO2
AU - Himanshu Mavani
AU - Zhonglin He
AU - Evgeny Y. Tsymbal
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/05
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2610.07494
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.07494
AB - The magnetic ground state of rutile RuO2 remains disputed, raising a central question: under what structural and chemical conditions can this material support altermagnetism? We address this question by combining a critical assessment of experimental and theoretical studies with first-principles calculations of epitaxial strain, point defects, doping, and interfaces. Bulk-sensitive measurements reported in the literature are consistent with a nonmagnetic ground state, while magnetic signatures in thin films depend strongly on their structural environment and do not necessarily establish homogeneous altermagnetic order. Our calculations identify substrate-imposed epitaxial strain as the leading factor favoring altermagnetism among the conditions examined and predict several substrate-orientation combinations that stabilize an altermagnetic ground state. Carrier doping and chemical substitution modify this strain-induced magnetism in distinct ways. Uniform hole doping strengthens the magnetic tendency, whereas Ru vacancies provide little benefit and can weaken the magnetic state through local structural distortions. Cr or Mn substitution, by contrast, enhances Ru magnetic moments and further stabilizes the strained altermagnetic phase. These results distinguish the effects of carrier doping from those of local structural and chemical changes and identify concrete routes to realizing altermagnetism in RuO2 films.
ER -