• Accepted Paper

Raman spectroscopy of the van der Waals altermagnet Co1/4NbSe2

Dushyanthini Balasundaram, Bishal Thapa, Resham Babu Regmi, Nirmal J. Ghimire, Igor I. Mazin, and Patrick M. Vora

Phys. Rev. B - Accepted 5 October, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/f173-1z4x

Abstract

We investigate the influence of Co intercalation and altermagnetic order on the lattice dynamics of the layered compound Co1/4NbSe2. Polarization-resolved Raman spectroscopy, supported by density-functional theory, enables identification of six Raman-active phonons. Co intercalation drives a substantial reconstruction of the vibrational spectrum through zone folding of NbSe2 phonons, producing hybridized modes with mixed zone-center and zone-boundary character. Despite this, Co atoms do not participate in any Raman-active modes by symmetry, which is in marked contrast to related 1/3 compounds where intercalant modes do contribute to the Raman spectrum. Temperature-dependent Raman measurements across the altermagnetic transition show no discontinuities, which is consistent with magnetic fluctuations persisting above the N'eel temperature. However, we find evidence for spin-phonon coupling in A1g symmetry modes owing to their out-of-plane Se displacements. Our work demonstrates the substantial impact of intercalation on the vibrational properties of transition metal dichalcogenides and the presence of spin-phonon interactions in a newly discovered altermagnetic material.

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