Coexistence of d-Wave Altermagnetism and Topological States in Janus FeSeX (X = S, Te) Monolayers

TL;DR

This study predicts that Janus FeSeX monolayers exhibit coexistence of d-wave altermagnetism and topological states, tunable by strain, with potential applications in spintronics.

Contribution

First-principles calculations reveal the coexistence of altermagnetism and topological behavior in Janus FeSeX monolayers, highlighting their stability and tunability.

Findings

Altermagnetic exchange splitting can be strain-tuned.

Finite topological band gap appears with spin-orbit coupling.

Quantized spin Hall conductivity confirms topological nature.

Abstract

The interplay between unconventional magnetism and band topology in two-dimensional materials has emerged as an important theme in condensed matter physics. Here, we present first-principles calculations that reveal the coexistence of d-wave altermagnetism and topological behavior in Janus FeSeX (X = S, Te) monolayers. The chemical asymmetry of the Janus structure breaks both out-of-plane mirror and inversion symmetries, leading to anisotropic exchange interactions and momentum-dependent spin splittings even in the absence of spin-orbit coupling, the defining signature of altermagnetism. Phonon dispersion analyses confirm the dynamical stability of both compounds, while strain-dependent calculations demonstrate that the magnitude of the altermagnetic exchange splitting ($\Delta_s$) can be efficiently tuned by biaxial strain. When spin-orbit coupling is included, a finite topological band gap emerges at the Fermi level, accompanied by quantized spin Hall conductivity plateaus and nontrivial topological invariants (spin Chern number = 1, Z2=1). These findings establish FeSeS and FeSeTe as promising two-dimensional platforms for realizing topological altermagnetism and spin--orbit--driven charge--spin conversion, thus opening new avenues for low-dissipation spintronic devices.