Quasi-One-Dimensional Spin Transport in Altermagnetic Z

In three dimensions, quasi-one-dimensional (Q1D) transport has traditionally been associated with systems featuring a Q1D chain structure. Here, based on first-principle calculations, we go beyond this understanding to show that the Q1D transport can also be realized in certain three-dimensional (3D) altermagnetic (AM) metals with a topological nodal net in momentum space but lacking Q1D chain structure in real space, including the existing compounds ß-Fe_{2}(PO_{4})O, Co_{2}(PO_{4})O, and LiTi_{2}O_{4}. These materials exhibit an AM ground state and feature an ideal crossed Z^{3} Weyl nodal line in each spin channel around Fermi level, formed by three straight and flat nodal lines traversing the entire Brillouin zone. These nodal lines eventually lead to an AM Z^{3} nodal net. Surprisingly, the electronic conductivity σ_{xx} in these topological nodal net metals is dozens of times larger than σ_{yy} and σ_{zz} in the up-spin channel, while σ_{yy} dominates transport in the down-spin channel. This suggests a distinctive Q1D transport signature in each spin channel, and the principal moving directions for the two spin channels are orthogonal, resulting in Q1D direction-dependent spin transport. This novel phenomenon cannot be found in both conventional 3D bulk materials and Q1D chain materials. In particular, the Q1D spin transport gradually disappears as the Fermi energy moves away from the nodal net, further confirming its topological origin. Our Letter not only enhances the comprehension of topological physics in altermagnets but also opens a new direction for the exploration of topological spintronics.

Predictable Gate-Field Control of Spin in Altermagnets with Spin-Layer Coupling.

Spintronics, a technology harnessing electron spin for information transmission, offers a promising avenue to surpass the limitations of conventional electronic devices. While the spin directly interacts with the magnetic field, its control through the electric field is generally more practical, and has become a focal point in the field. Here, we propose a mechanism to realize static and almost uniform effective magnetic field by gate-electric field. Our method employs two-dimensional altermagnets with valley-mediated spin-layer coupling (SLC), in which electronic states display valley-contrasted spin and layer polarization. For the low-energy valley electrons, a uniform gate field is approximately identical to a uniform magnetic field, leading to predictable control of spin. Through symmetry analysis and ab initio calculations, we predict altermagnetic monolayer Ca(CoN)_{2} and its family materials as potential candidates hosting SLC. We show that an almost uniform magnetic field (B_{z}) indeed is generated by gate field (E_{z}) in Ca(CoN)_{2} with B_{z}∝E_{z} in a wide range, and B_{z} reaches as high as about 10^{3} T when E_{z}=0.2 eV/Å. Furthermore, owing to the clean band structure and SLC, one can achieve perfect and switchable spin and valley currents and significant tunneling magnetoresistance in Ca(CoN)_{2} solely using the gate field. Our work provides new opportunities to generate predictable control of spin and design spintronic devices that can be controlled by purely electric means.

Real higher-order Weyl photonic crystal.

Higher-order Weyl semimetals are a family of recently predicted topological phases simultaneously showcasing unconventional properties derived from Weyl points, such as chiral anomaly, and multidimensional topological phenomena originating from higher-order topology. The higher-order Weyl semimetal phases, with their higher-order topology arising from quantized dipole or quadrupole bulk polarizations, have been demonstrated in phononics and circuits. Here, we experimentally discover a class of higher-order Weyl semimetal phase in a three-dimensional photonic crystal (PhC), exhibiting the concurrence of the surface and hinge Fermi arcs from the nonzero Chern number and the nontrivial generalized real Chern number, respectively, coined a real higher-order Weyl PhC. Notably, the projected two-dimensional subsystem with kz = 0 is a real Chern insulator, belonging to the Stiefel-Whitney class with real Bloch wavefunctions, which is distinguished fundamentally from the Chern class with complex Bloch wavefunctions. Our work offers an ideal photonic platform for exploring potential applications and material properties associated with the higher-order Weyl points and the Stiefel-Whitney class of topological phases.

Discovery of a maximally charged Weyl point.

The hypothetical Weyl particles in high-energy physics have been discovered in three-dimensional crystals as collective quasiparticle excitations near two-fold degenerate Weyl points. Such momentum-space Weyl particles carry quantised chiral charges, which can be measured by counting the number of Fermi arcs emanating from the corresponding Weyl points. It is known that merging unit-charged Weyl particles can create new ones with more charges. However, only very recently has it been realised that there is an upper limit - the maximal charge number that a two-fold Weyl point can host is four - achievable only in crystals without spin-orbit coupling. Here, we report the experimental realisation of such a maximally charged Weyl point in a three-dimensional photonic crystal. The four charges support quadruple-helicoid Fermi arcs, forming an unprecedented topology of two non-contractible loops in the surface Brillouin zone. The helicoid Fermi arcs also exhibit the long-pursued type-II van Hove singularities that can reside at arbitrary momenta. This discovery reveals a type of maximally charged Weyl particles beyond conventional topological particles in crystals.