QM2 - Quantum Matter and Materials | February 26, 11:00

Topological Antiferromagnetic Spin-orbitronics: A Dormant Giant Awakens

Jairo Sinova

Antiferromagnets and ferromagnets represent two fundamental forms of magnetism with antiferromagnets being the more abundant of the two. However, it has been notoriously difficult to manipulate and detect antiferromagnetic order by any practical means due to the compensated magnetic moment. This has left antiferromagnets over their hundred-year history poorly explored, in striking contrast to the thousands of years of fascination and utility of ferromagnets. This has changed with the proposal and subsequent discovery of a new relativistic spin-torque phenomenon, the Neél spin-orbit torque, that allow us to efficiently control antiferromagnetic moments in spintronic devices. This allows for antiferromagnets to become active elements in devices. An additional concept that has emerged is that antiferromagnets provide a unifying platform for realizing synergies among three prominent fields of contemporary condensed matter physics: Dirac quasiparticles and topological phases. These recent developments have unlocked a multitude of known and newly identified unique features of this "dormant-giant" class of materials that the community is beginning to explore.


Mainz University
Seminar Room 0.03, ETP
Contact: Achim Rosch