Altermagnetism revealed by polarized neutrons in MnF 2
Altermagnets are compensated magnets with symmetry-enforced spin split bands. Direct spectroscopic evidence for their existence has been reported in several materials. For example, inelastic neutron scattering (INS) has recently been used to witness a splitting of magnon bands in MnTe that is compatible with altermagnetism. Here, we present polarized INS results on MnF 2 showing that it is altermagnetic. Our data reveal a splitting coming from the long-range dipolar coupling. Furthermore, using a domain-biased sample, the data reveal a nonzero chirality in the neutron scattering cross section that reverses the sign between the two magnon modes. It is this feature that clearly demonstrates altermagnetism in MnF 2 . This finding highlights the potential for polarized INS to characterize altermagnets through its sensitivity to fine structure in magnon spectra.
Authors
- Dalila Bounoua (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0860-1321)
- Arsen Gukasov (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2763-468X)
- V. Balédent (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9437-434X)
- Jeffrey G. Rau (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5961-0300)
- Vasile Ovidiu Garlea (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5322-7271)
- Quentin Faure (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1508-2363)
- S. Petit (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2169-0544)
- Paul McClarty (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5275-2891)
- Afonso Ribeiro
Institutions
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory (US)
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- Institut Universitaire de France (FR)
- Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives (FR)
- Université Paris-Saclay (FR)
- Laboratoire de physique des Solides (FR)
- CEA Paris-Saclay - Etablissement de Saclay (FR)
- Laboratoire Léon Brillouin (FR)
- CEA Paris-Saclay (FR)
- University of Windsor (CA)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Science
- Published
- 2026-10-29
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aec2602
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Advanced Condensed Matter Physics
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 2.36