Catalogue of $C$-paired spin-momentum locking in antiferromagnetic systems

TL;DR

This paper systematically classifies and predicts antiferromagnetic materials exhibiting $C$-paired spin-momentum locking, revealing 12 fundamental types and identifying 142 materials with this property, with implications for spintronics and external field responses.

Contribution

It introduces a general theory and algorithm for classifying all possible CSMLs in AFMs, and predicts new materials and phenomena based on this framework.

Findings

Identified 12 elementary CSML types based on symmetry.

Predicted 142 AFMs capable of exhibiting CSML.

Proposed mechanisms for piezomagnetism and Hall effects in these materials.

Abstract

Antiferromagnetic materials (AFMs) have been gaining lots of attentions due to its great potential in spintronics devices and the recently discovered novel spin structure in the momentum space, i.e., $C$-paired spin-valley or spin-momentum locking (CSVL/CSML), where spins and valleys/momenta are locked to each other due to the crystal symmetry guaranteeing zero magnetization. Here, we systematically studied CSMLs and proposed a general theory and algorithm using little co-group and coset representatives, which reveals that 12 elementary kinds of CSMLs, determined by the geometric relation of spins and valleys and the essential symmetry guaranteeing zero magnetization, are sufficient to fully represent all possible CSMLs. By combining the proposed algorithm and high-throughput first-principles calculations, we predicted 38 magnetic point groups and identified 142 experimentally verified AFMs that can realize CSML. Besides predicting new materials, our theory can naturally reveal underlying mechanisms of CSMLs' responses to external fields. As an example, two qualitatively different types of piezomagnetism via occupation imbalance or spin tilting were predicted in RbV$_2$Te$_2$O. The algorithm and conclusions can be directly extended to the locking between valley/momentum and any other pseudo-vector degree of freedom, e.g., Berry curvature, as exemplified in RbV$_2$Te$_2$O and the new proposed piezo-Hall effect, where a strain can induce a non-zero anomalous Hall conductance. In addition, the proposed concept and methodology can be straightforwardly applied to other symmetry groups, such as spin group.