Chiral altermagnon in MnTe
Altermagnetism has been recognized as a magnetic phase that bridges the properties of ferro- and antiferromagnetism. The momentum-dependent spin splitting observed in these materials reflects their distinctive symmetry characteristics, which also establish the conditions for chiral magnons to emerge. Here we provide direct experimental evidence for a chiral magnon in the altermagnetic candidate manganese telluride (MnTe) revealed by circular-dichroism resonant inelastic x-ray scattering. This mode, which we term chiral altermagnon, exhibits a distinct momentum dependence of its spin polarization consistent with the altermagnetic g -wave symmetry of MnTe. Our polarization-resolved data corroborate the existence of a discrete class of magnetic excitations, demonstrating how altermagnetic order shapes spin dynamics and paving the way for advances in spintronic and quantum technologies.
Authors
- Marcel Neuhaus (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-4038-0206)
- K. Kummer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3044-7957)
- F. Yakhou
- L. Shen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2121-2585)
- Daniel Jost (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7327-7789)
- Rachel Nickel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8179-6295)
- Stephan Geprägs (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0985-2341)
- Georgi L. Dakovski (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1563-1190)
- Nicholas B. Brookes (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1342-9530)
- Resham Babu Regmi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-5094-379X)
- Monika Scheufele (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2071-7263)
- N. Ghimire (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8474-4968)
- Matthias F. Kling (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1710-0775)
- Samuel Sahel-Schackis (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5003-9980)
Institutions
- University of Notre Dame (US)
- Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities (DE)
- SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (US)
- European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (FR)
- Linac Coherent Light Source (US)
- Walther Meissner Institute (DE)
- Technical University of Munich (DE)
- Stanford University (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Science
- Published
- 2026-10-29
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adv3196
- Citations
- 2
- Primary Topic
- Advanced Condensed Matter Physics
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 2.36
Funders
- U.S. Department of Energy
- European Synchrotron Radiation Facility
- Stanford Bio-X
- Army Research Office