Ferroaxial magnets: time-reversal-even mirror symmetry violation from spin order

TL;DR

This paper introduces ferroaxial magnets, a new class of spin-order-driven multiferroic materials that exhibit mirror-symmetry breaking without breaking time-reversal symmetry, enabling optical control and potential spintronic applications.

Contribution

The study identifies ferroaxial magnets as a novel class of materials with unique symmetry properties, and proposes their potential for nonrelativistic multiferroicity and spintronics.

Findings

Ferroaxial magnets exhibit mirror-symmetry breaking while preserving time-reversal symmetry.

Identification of candidate materials and the ferroaxial metal state.

Proposal of a third-order nonlinear Hall effect as a probe for ferroaxial metals.

Abstract

We investigate ferroaxial magnets, a new class of spin-order-driven multiferroic magnets in which magnetic ordering induces mirror-symmetry breaking while preserving both time-reversal and spatial-inversion symmetries. These systems exhibit a ferromagnet-like axial anisotropy that allows optical control of the ferroaxial polarization, while their macroscopic time-reversal symmetry makes them attractive for antiferromagnetic spintronics. Using spin crystallographic group analysis, we identify the candidate materials and the nonrelativistic ferroaxial nature stemming from the strong exchange splitting of magnets. Furthermore, a symmetry-based identification shows magnetic materials that host ferroaxial order and metallic conductivity, realizing the ferroaxial metal state that undergoes a ferroaxial phase transition while remaining metallic. As a direct probe for the ferroaxial metal, we propose a third-order nonlinear Hall effect originating from the transverse coupling between the electric field and Berry curvature dipole mediated by the ferroaxial anisotropy. Our results establish ferroaxial magnets as a platform for nonrelativistic multiferroicity and spintronic applications.