Dirac fermions in the altermagnet
Phys. Rev. B 112, 075138 – Published 18 August, 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/c2fq-hkk4
Abstract
Altermagnetism exhibits zero net magnetization and spin-splitting electronic structure. The interplay between altermagnetism and topological physics becomes an important topic in condensed matter physics. In this work, we propose that the altermagnet hosts Dirac fermions and we explore this idea through first-principles calculations and tight-binding-model analysis. When subjected to an external magnetic field, the altermagnet changes from an altermagnetic state to a ferromagnetic state. Accompanied by magnetic order transition, the fourfold degenerate Dirac points transit into sextuple degenerate points. Especially, the spin-orbit-coupling effect has little influence on the Dirac fermions. The topological phases in the altermagnetic state may hold the exotic spin-splitter torque and the remarkable nonlinear transport effect. Our work paves the way for exploring the interplay between altermagnetism and the nontrivial topological phase.