- Physical Review Journals
All JournalsPhysics Magazine

Physical Review B

Reuse & Permissions

It is not necessary to obtain permission to reuse this article or its components as it is available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI are maintained. Please note that some figures may have been included with permission from other third parties. It is your responsibility to obtain the proper permission from the rights holder directly for these figures.

Export citation

Export citation

Choose format for download:

Download Citation
  • Editors' Suggestion
  • Letter
  • Open Access

Pseudo-Goldstone mode in altermagnetic α-MnTe: High-field electron spin resonance studies

K. Yu. Povarov1,*, J. Wosnitza1,2, S. Rößler3, M. Schmidt4, A. A. Tsirlin3, and S. A. Zvyagin1,†

  • *Contact author: k.povarov@hzdr.de
  • †Contact author: s.zvyagin@hzdr.de
PDF

Phys. Rev. B 114, L020407 – Published 29 July, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/wmdr-ctqb

Abstract

We report multifrequency electron spin resonance spectroscopy studies of α-MnTe in magnetic fields up to 16 T, applied along the easy anisotropy axis. At temperatures below TN=310K, we observe a single resonance line corresponding to the pseudo-Goldstone mode of the antiferromagnetic resonance (AFMR). This mode exhibits the isotropic behavior with geff=2.01, consistent with a complete quench of the orbital angular momenta for Mn2+ ions. At low temperatures, the resonance mode is remarkably narrow (∼50mT for the full width at the half-maximum at 5 K). The AFMR mode exhibits substantial broadening with increasing temperature, which can be understood in terms of the magnon-magnon scattering.

View figure in article

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Article Text

Supplemental Material

References (55)

  1. L. Šmejkal, J. Sinova, and T. Jungwirth, Beyond conventional ferromagnetism and antiferromagnetism: A phase with nonrelativistic spin and crystal rotation symmetry, Phys. Rev. X 12, 031042 (2022).
  2. L. Šmejkal, J. Sinova, and T. Jungwirth, Emerging research landscape of altermagnetism, Phys. Rev. X 12, 040501 (2022).
  3. L. Bai, W. Feng, S. Liu, L. Šmejkal, Y. Mokrousov, and Y. Yao, Altermagnetism: Exploring new frontiers in magnetism and spintronics, Adv. Funct. Mater. 34, 2409327 (2024).
  4. C.-C. Wei, E. Lawrence, A. Tran, and H. Ji, Crystal chemistry and design principles of altermagnets, ACS Org. Inorg. Au 4, 604 (2024).
  5. S. S. Fender, O. Gonzalez, and D. K. Bediako, Altermagnetism: A chemical perspective, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 147, 2257 (2025).
  6. E. F. Bertaut, Representation analysis of magnetic structures, Acta Crystallogr. Sect. A 24, 217 (1968).
  7. P. Brown, Magnetic structure, Phys. B+C 137, 31 (1986).
  8. A. S. Borovik-Romanov, H. Grimmer, and M. Kenzelmann, Magnetic properties, in International Tables for Crystallography Volume D: Physical Properties of Crystals, edited by A. Authier (Wiley, New York, 2006), pp. 106–153.
  9. J. Ding, Z. Jiang, X. Chen, Z. Tao, Z. Liu, T. Li, J. Liu, J. Sun, J. Cheng, J. Liu, Y. Yang, R. Zhang, L. Deng, W. Jing, Y. Huang, Y. Shi, M. Ye, S. Qiao, Y. Wang, Y. Guo, et al., Large band splitting in g-wave altermagnet CrSb, Phys. Rev. Lett. 133, 206401 (2024).
  10. S. Reimers, L. Odenbreit, L. Šmejkal, V. N. Strocov, P. Constantinou, A. B. Hellenes, R. Jaeschke Ubiergo, W. H. Campos, V. K. Bharadwaj, A. Chakraborty, T. Denneulin, W. Shi, R. E. Dunin-Borkowski, S. Das, M. Kläui, J. Sinova, and M. Jourdan, Direct observation of altermagnetic band splitting in CrSb thin films, Nat. Commun. 15, 2116 (2024).
  11. N. Dale, O. A. Ashour, M. Vila, R. B. Regmi, J. Fox, C. W. Johnson, A. Fedorov, A. Stibor, N. J. Ghimire, and S. M. Griffin, Non-relativistic spin splitting above and below the Fermi level in a g-wave altermagnet, arXiv:2411.18761.
  12. A. P. Sakhya, M. I. Mondal, M. Sprague, R. B. Regmi, A. K. Kumay, H. Sheokand, I. I. Mazin, N. J. Ghimire, and M. Neupane, Electronic structure of a layered altermagnetic compound CoNb4Se8, arXiv:2503.16670.
  13. E. Uchida, H. Kondoh, and N. Fukuoka, Magnetic and electrical properties of manganese telluride, J. Phys. Soc. Jpn. 11, 27 (1956).
  14. T. Komatsubara, M. Murakami, and E. Hirahara, Magnetic properties of manganese telluride single crystals, J. Phys. Soc. Jpn. 18, 356 (1963).
  15. W. Szuszkiewicz, B. Hennion, B. Witkowska, E. Łusakowska, and A. Mycielski, Neutron scattering study of structural and magnetic properties of hexagonal MnTe, Phys. Status Solidi (C) 2, 1141 (2005).
  16. W. Szuszkiewicz, E. Dynowska, B. Witkowska, and B. Hennion, Spin-wave measurements on hexagonal MnTe of NiAs-type structure by inelastic neutron scattering, Phys. Rev. B 73, 104403 (2006).
  17. D. Kriegner, H. Reichlova, J. Grenzer, W. Schmidt, E. Ressouche, J. Godinho, T. Wagner, S. Y. Martin, A. B. Shick, V. V. Volobuev, G. Springholz, V. Holý, J. Wunderlich, T. Jungwirth, and K. Výborný, Magnetic anisotropy in antiferromagnetic hexagonal MnTe, Phys. Rev. B 96, 214418 (2017).
  18. I. I. Mazin, Altermagnetism in MnTe: Origin, predicted manifestations, and routes to detwinning, Phys. Rev. B 107, L100418 (2023).
  19. S. Lee, S. Lee, S. Jung, J. Jung, D. Kim, Y. Lee, B. Seok, J. Kim, B. G. Park, L. Šmejkal, C.-J. Kang, and C. Kim, Broken Kramers degeneracy in altermagnetic MnTe, Phys. Rev. Lett. 132, 036702 (2024).
  20. T. Osumi, S. Souma, T. Aoyama, K. Yamauchi, A. Honma, K. Nakayama, T. Takahashi, K. Ohgushi, and T. Sato, Observation of a giant band splitting in altermagnetic MnTe, Phys. Rev. B 109, 115102 (2024).
  21. J. Krempaský, L. Šmejkal, S. W. D'Souza, M. Hajlaoui, G. Springholz, K. Uhlířová, F. Alarab, P. C. Constantinou, V. Strocov, D. Usanov, W. R. Pudelko, R. González-Hernández, A. B. Hellenes, Z. Jansa, H. Reichlová, Z. Šobáň, R. D. G. Betancourt, P. Wadley, J. Sinova, D. Kriegner, et al., Altermagnetic lifting of Kramers spin degeneracy, Nature (London) 626, 517 (2024).
  22. Z. Liu, M. Ozeki, S. Asai, S. Itoh, and T. Masuda, Chiral split magnon in altermagnetic MnTe, Phys. Rev. Lett. 133, 156702 (2024).
  23. O. J. Amin, A. Dal Din, E. Golias, Y. Niu, A. Zakharov, S. C. Fromage, C. J. B. Fields, S. L. Heywood, R. B. Cousins, F. Maccherozzi, J. Krempaský, J. H. Dil, D. Kriegner, B. Kiraly, R. P. Campion, A. W. Rushforth, K. W. Edmonds, S. S. Dhesi, L. Šmejkal, T. Jungwirth, et al., Nanoscale imaging and control of altermagnetism in MnTe, Nature (London) 636, 348 (2024).
  24. A. Hariki, A. Dal Din, O. J. Amin, T. Yamaguchi, A. Badura, D. Kriegner, K. W. Edmonds, R. P. Campion, P. Wadley, D. Backes, L. S. I. Veiga, S. S. Dhesi, G. Springholz, L. Šmejkal, K. Výborný, T. Jungwirth, and J. Kuneš, X-ray magnetic circular dichroism in altermagnetic α-MnTe, Phys. Rev. Lett. 132, 176701 (2024).
  25. K. P. Kluczyk, K. Gas, M. J. Grzybowski, P. Skupiński, M. A. Borysiewicz, T. Fąs, J. Suffczyński, J. Z. Domagala, K. Grasza, A. Mycielski, M. Baj, K. H. Ahn, K. Výborný, M. Sawicki, and M. Gryglas-Borysiewicz, Coexistence of anomalous Hall effect and weak magnetization in a nominally collinear antiferromagnet MnTe, Phys. Rev. B 110, 155201 (2024).
  26. R. D. G. Betancourt, J. Zubáč, K. Geishendorf, P. Ritzinger, B. Růžičková, T. Kotte, J. Železný, K. Olejník, G. Springholz, B. Büchner, A. Thomas, K. Výborný, T. Jungwirth, H. Reichlová, and D. Kriegner, Anisotropic magnetoresistance in altermagnetic MnTe, npj Spintron. 2, 45 (2024).
  27. D. Kriegner, K. Výborný, K. Olejník, H. Reichlová, V. Novák, X. Marti, J. Gazquez, V. Saidl, P. Němec, V. V. Volobuev, G. Springholz, V. Holý, and T. Jungwirth, Multiple-stable anisotropic magnetoresistance memory in antiferromagnetic MnTe, Nat. Commun. 7, 11623 (2016).
  28. J. Dzian, P. Kubaščík, S. Tázlarů, M. Białek, M. Šindler, F. Le Mardelé, C. Kadlec, F. Kadlec, M. Gryglas-Borysiewicz, K. P. Kluczyk, A. Mycielski, P. Skupiński, J. Hejtmánek, R. Tesař, J. Železný, A.-L. Barra, C. Faugeras, J. Volný, K. Uhlířová, L. Nádvorník, et al., Antiferromagnetic resonance in α−MnTe, Phys. Rev. B 112, 024433 (2025).
  29. N. Kunitomi, Y. Hamaguchi, and S. Anzai, Neutron diffraction study on manganese telluride, J. Phys. Fr. 25, 568 (1964).
  30. O. de Melo, F. Leccabue, C. Pelosi, V. Sagredo, M. Chourio, J. Martin, G. Bocelli, and G. Calestani, Crystal growth and characterization of MnTe single crystals, J. Cryst. Growth 110, 445 (1991).
  31. S. A. Zvyagin, J. Krzystek, P. H. M. van Loosdrecht, G. Dhalenne, and A. Revcolevschi, High-field ESR study of the dimerized-incommensurate phase transition in the spin-Peierls compound CuGeO3, Phys. B 346-347, 1 (2004).
  32. A. G. Gurevich and G. A. Melkov, Magnetization Oscillations and Waves (CRC, Boca Raton, FL, 1996).
  33. See Supplemental Material at http://link.aps.org/supplemental/10.1103/wmdr-ctqb for details of ESR line analysis and extended discussion of various magnon relaxation channels.
  34. S. Rößler, V. Ginga, M. Schmidt, Y. Prots, H. Rosner, U. Burkhardt, U. K. Rößler, and A. A. Tsirlin, Low-field magnetization processes of hexagonal easy-plane altermagnet α-MnTe, arXiv:2511.01388.
  35. A. Abragam and B. Bleaney, Electron Paramagnetic Resonance of Transition Ions (Oxford University, Oxford, 2012).
  36. F. J. Dyson, General theory of spin-wave interactions, Phys. Rev. 102, 1217 (1956).
  37. Y. Magnin and H. T. Diep, Monte Carlo study of magnetic resistivity in semiconducting MnTe, Phys. Rev. B 85, 184413 (2012).
  38. V. S. Lutovinov and M. Y. Reizer, Relaxation processes in ferromagnetic metals, Sov. Phys. JETP 50, 355 (1979).
  39. X. He, Y. Zhang, and Z. Zhang, Magnetic and electrical behavior of MnTe1−xSbx alloys, J. Mater. Sci. Technol. 27, 64 (2011).
  40. R. Orbach, Spin-lattice relaxation in rare-earth salts, Proc. R. Soc. A 264, 458 (1961).
  41. M. I. Kaganov and V. M. Tsukernik, Phenomenological theory of kinetic processes in ferromagnetic dielectrics. II. Interaction of spin waves with phonons, Sov. Phys. JETP 9, 151 (1959).
  42. A. I. Akhiezer, V. G. Bariakhtar, and S. V. Peletminskii, Spin Waves (North-Holland, Amsterdam, 1968).
  43. S. Streib, N. Vidal-Silva, K. Shen, and G. E. W. Bauer, Magnon-phonon interactions in magnetic insulators, Phys. Rev. B 99, 184442 (2019).
  44. A. B. Harris, D. Kumar, B. I. Halperin, and P. C. Hohenberg, Dynamics of an antiferromagnet at low temperatures: Spin-wave damping and hydrodynamics, Phys. Rev. B 3, 961 (1971).
  45. S. M. Rezende and R. M. White, Multimagnon theory of antiferromagnetic resonance relaxation, Phys. Rev. B 14, 2939 (1976).
  46. S. P. Bayrakci, T. Keller, K. Habicht, and B. Keimer, Spin-wave lifetimes throughout the Brillouin zone, Science 312, 1926 (2006).
  47. K. Damle and S. Sachdev, Spin dynamics and transport in gapped one-dimensional Heisenberg antiferromagnets at nonzero temperatures, Phys. Rev. B 57, 8307 (1998).
  48. B. Náfrádi, T. Keller, H. Manaka, A. Zheludev, and B. Keimer, Low-temperature dynamics of magnons in a spin-1/2 ladder compound, Phys. Rev. Lett. 106, 177202 (2011).
  49. D. Schmidiger, Physics of a strong-leg quantum spin ladder, Ph.D. thesis, ETH Zürich, 2014.
  50. T. Förster, F. A. Garcia, T. Gruner, E. E. Kaul, B. Schmidt, C. Geibel, and J. Sichelschmidt, Spin fluctuations with two-dimensional XY behavior in a frustrated S=12 square-lattice ferromagnet, Phys. Rev. B 87, 180401(R) (2013).
  51. H. Benner and J. P. Boucher, Spin dynamics in the paramagnetic regime: NMR and EPR in two-dimensional magnets, in Magnetic Properties of Layered Transition Metal Compounds, edited by F. Lévy, E. Mooser, and L. J. De Jongh (Springer, Dordrecht, 1990), Vol. 9, pp. 323–378.
  52. M. E. Zhitomirsky and A. L. Chernyshev, Colloquium: Spontaneous magnon decays, Rev. Mod. Phys. 85, 219 (2013).
  53. A. L. Chernyshev, M. E. Zhitomirsky, N. Martin, and L.-P. Regnault, Lifetime of gapped excitations in a collinear quantum antiferromagnet, Phys. Rev. Lett. 109, 097201 (2012).
  54. O. G. Shpyrko, E. D. Isaacs, J. M. Logan, Y. Feng, G. Aeppli, R. Jaramillo, H. C. Kim, T. F. Rosenbaum, P. Zschack, M. Sprung, S. Narayanan, and A. R. Sandy, Direct measurement of antiferromagnetic domain fluctuations, Nature (London) 447, 68 (2007).
  55. A. N. Petsch, L. Shen, Z. Porter, A. Alshemi, A. Stellhorn, A. Israelski, C. Peng, H. Yavas, V. Thampy, R. J. Arthur, Z. Ren, F. Westermeier, M. Sprung, S. M. Hayden, E. Blackburn, and J. J. Turner, Anomalous lattice relaxation dynamics in optimally doped La2−xSrxCuO4, Phys. Rev. B 112, L100505 (2025).

Outline

Information

Phys. Rev. B 114, L020407– Published 29 July, 2026
  • Received 28 October 2025
  • Revised 6 February 2026
  • Accepted 8 July 2026
Crossmark - Check for updates button
Creative Commons Logo

Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI.

Published by the American Physical Society

Sign In to Your Journals Account

Filter

Filter

Article Lookup

Enter a citation