Three-dimensional mapping of the altermagnetic spin splitting in CrSb
Altermagnetism, a kind of collinear magnetism that is characterized by a momentum-dependent band and spin splitting without net magnetization, has recently attracted considerable interest. Finding altermagnetic materials with large splitting near the Fermi level necessarily requires three-dimensional k-space mapping. While this is crucial for spintronic applications and emergent phenomena, it remains challenging. Here, using synchrotron-based angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES), spin-resolved ARPES and model calculations, we uncover a large altermagnetic splitting, up to ~1.0 eV, near the Fermi level in CrSb. We verify its bulk-type g-wave altermagnetism through systematic three-dimensional k-space mapping, which unambiguously reveals the altermagnetic symmetry and associated nodal planes. Spin-resolved ARPES measurements further verify the spin polarizations of the split bands near Fermi level. Tight-binding model analysis indicates that the large altermagnetic splitting arises from strong third-nearest-neighbor hopping mediated by Sb ions. The large band/spin splitting near Fermi level in metallic CrSb, together with its high T<sub>N</sub> (up to 705 K) and simple spin configuration, paves the way for exploring emergent phenomena and spintronic applications based on altermagnets.
Authors
- Huiqiu Yuan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9787-4884)
- Jiyuan Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4766-677X)
- Anupam Jana (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2967-9315)
- Lun‐Hui Hu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0376-3367)
- Jun Fujii (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3208-802X)
- M. Shi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6090-8219)
- Yu Song (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8835-9071)
- Yuanfeng Xu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1390-2308)
- I. Vobornik (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9957-3535)
- Wenxuan Zhao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4444-3674)
- Ze Pan
- Saizheng Cao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1201-6961)
- Lexian Yang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0078-1797)
- Yongjun Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-3717-9139)
- Jiawen Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5494-1338)
- Yang Sai
- Yang Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6506-5903)
- Mao Ye (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7078-2402)
- Weifan Zhu
- Guowei Yang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7725-2968)
- H.Q. Zheng (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3836-2552)
- Yonggang Xu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-0494-5546)
- Zhanghuan Li
Institutions
- The Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) (IT)
- Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
- AREA Science Park (IT)
- Shanghai Advanced Research Institute (CN)
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures (CN)
- Institute of Physics (CN)
- National Laboratory for Superconductivity (CN)
- Hubei Normal University (CN)
- Zhejiang University (CN)
- Nanjing University (CN)
- Tsinghua University (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature Communications
- Published
- 2025-02-07
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-56647-7
- Citations
- 95
- Primary Topic
- Magnetic properties of thin films
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 118.44
Funders
- Elettra-Sincrotrone Trieste
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- VINNOVA
- Svenska Forskningsrådet Formas
- Vetenskapsrådet