X-ray magnetic circular dichroism originating from the anisotropic magnetic dipole operator in collinear altermagnets under trigonal crystal field

We investigate the microscopic origin and spectral features of x-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) in collinear antiferromagnets with trigonal crystal fields, using $\ensuremath{\alpha}$-MnTe as a prototypical example. Although such systems exhibit zero net magnetization, we demonstrate that XMCD can emerge from the anisotropic magnetic dipole operator ${T}_{z}$, arising from quadrupolar spin distributions. By constructing a complete multipole basis and analyzing the symmetry conditions under trigonal distortion, we identify specific spin and orbital configurations that enable a finite XMCD response. Further, we employ both one-electron and multielectron models, including spin-orbit coupling and Coulomb interactions, to calculate the XMCD spectra for various ${d}^{n}$ configurations. Our findings provide theoretical benchmarks for XMCD in altermagnets and highlight the key role of orbital symmetry and magnetic anisotropy in realizing observable dichroic effects.