Research: Curvature-Induced Magnetization of Altermagnetic Films

The curvature of altermagnetic films makes them magnetized. The altermagnetic nature of a large class of magnetically ordered materials is the source of a wide range of new effects. Here we show that the merging of two areas, namely the altermagnetism and the physics of curvilinear low-dimensional magnets gives rise to a distinct novel physical effect: curvature-induced magnetization in bend altermagnetic films. This effect opens a promising possibility for imaging of the domain structure in the magnetically compensated structures. The induced magnetization is approximately tangential to the film and is proportional to the curvature gradients. Depending on the geometry, the curvilinear altermagnetic film can possess different macroscopic magnetic characteristics, i.e. total magnetic or toroidal moments.

K. V. Yershov, O. Gomonay, J. Sinova, J. van den Brink, V. P. Kravchuk,
Curvature-Induced Magnetization of Altermagnetic Films,
Phys. Rev. Lett. 134, 116701 (2025) (arXiv)