[institut] Center for Solid State Physics and New Materials Seminar: Srđan Stavrić, 20. 10. 2025. at 12h

[zeljkad at ipb.ac.rs]

Dear colleagues,

You are kindly invited to the Center for Solid State Physics and New 
Materials seminar, which will be held on Monday, 20. 10. 2025. at 12:00, 
in the "Dragan Popović" lecture hall of the Institute of Physics 
Belgrade. The talk entitled:

Why all that fuss about altermagnets?

will be given by Dr. Srđan Stavrić.

The abstract of the talk:

Altermagnets are an emerging class of magnetic materials characterized 
by a collinear compensated arrangement of magnetic moments and a 
momentum-dependent spin splitting in the band structure. This peculiar 
combination, arising from specific crystal symmetries [1], merges the 
most desirable traits of antiferromagnets - such as ultrafast dynamics 
without stray fields - with the strong time-reversal-symmetry-breaking 
responses characteristic for ferromagnets [2]. Found in a diverse range 
of materials from metals to insulators, altermagnets offer a versatile 
new platform for next-generation spintronics, paving the way for 
high-density magnetic memory and terahertz nano-oscillators [3]. This 
talk will explore the fundamental principles and significant potential 
of this exciting new class of materials. We will begin by establishing a 
new taxonomy of collinear magnets, introducing the distinct realms of 
ferromagnets, antiferromagnets, and altermagnets, and extending the 
concept to non-collinear p-wave magnets. A special focus will be on 
recent observation of p-wave magnetism in a spin-spiral type-II 
multiferroic NiI₂ [4]. We will explore how the symmetry-protected 
coupling between chirality and polar order enables electrical control of 
a primarily non-relativistic spin polarization in this material. 
Finally, we will examine the role of spin-orbit coupling in altermagnets 
and show what implications it may have on electronic and magnetic 
properties. In particular, we will focus on two-dimensional 
altermagnets, where this relativistic interaction cannot be neglected as 
it is the source of the magnetic anisotropy which is crucial for 
stabilizing long-range magnetic order at finite temperatures [5].

[1] L. Šmejkal, J. Sinova, T. Jungwirth: Phys. Rev. X 12, 031042 (2022)
[2] L. Šmejkal, J. Sinova, T. Jungwirth: Phys. Rev. X 12, 040501 (2022)
[3] C. Song, H. Bai, Z. Zhou et al.: Nat. Rev. Mater. 10, 473 (2025)
[4] Q. Song, S. Stavrić, P. Barone, A. Droghetti, D. S. Antonenko et 
al.: Nature 642, 64 (2025)
[5] M. Milivojević, M. Orozović, S. Picozzi, M. Gmitra, S. Stavrić: 2D 
Mater. 11, 035025 (2024)

Best Regards,
Željka Dukić

Center for Solid State Physics and New Materials,
Institute of Physics Belgrade
Pregrevica 118, 11080 Belgrade, Serbia
http://www.ipb.ac.rs/