Altermagnetic Spin-Splitting Magnetoresistance

Hongyu Chen, Zian Wang, Peixin Qin, Ziang Meng, Xiaorong Zhou, Xiaoning Wang, Li Liu, Guojian Zhao, Zhiyuan Duan, Tianli Zhang, Jinghua Liu, Dingfu Shao, Zhiqi Liu

Published 2024-12-24Version 1

The recently discovered altermagnets, featured by the exotic correlation of magnetic exchange interaction and alternating crystal environments, have offered exciting cutting-edge opportunities for spintronics. Here, we report the experimental observation of an altermagnetic spin-splitting magnetoresistance effect, which is driven by a spin current associated with the giant nonrelativistic spin splitting of an altermagnet. The spin current polarization and the corresponding magnetic field direction associated with the magnetoresistance extrema are largely determined by the Neel vector of the altermagnet, leading to a remarkable phase shift compared to that driven by a conventional relativistic spin current. Our work opens a door to unearthing luxuriant nonrelativistic quantum states of matter in emergent materials with unconventional spin degeneracy lifting.