Collinear altermagnets and their Landau theories

Abstract

Altermagnets exhibit spontaneously spin-split electronic bands in the zero spin-orbit coupling (SOC) limit arising from the presence of collinear compensated magnetic order. The distinctive magnetocrystalline symmetries of altermagnets ensure that these spin splittings have a characteristic anisotropy in crystal momentum space. These systems have attracted a great deal of interest due to their potential for applications in spintronics. In this paper, we provide a general Landau theory that encompasses all three-dimensional altermagnets where the magnetic order does not enlarge the unit cell. We identify all crystal structures that admit altermagnetism and then reduce these to a relatively small set of distinct possible Landau theories governing such systems. In the zero SOC limit, we determine the possible local multipolar orders that are tied to the spin splitting of the band structure. We make precise the connection between altermagnetism as defined at zero SOC (“ideal” altermagnets) and the effects of weak SOC. In particular, we examine which response functions allowed by symmetry when SOC is present are guaranteed by the spin-orbit free theory and spell out the distinctive properties of altermagnets in comparison with conventional collinear antiferromagnets. Finally, we show how these ideas can be applied by considering a number of altermagnetic candidate materials.