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  • Letter
  • Open Access

Spin splitting in the surface electronic structure of antiferromagnet NdBi

Rikako Yamamoto1,2,*, Takeru Motoyama3, Takuma Iwata1,3, Towa Kosa3, Yukimi Nishioka3, Kazumasa Ideura3, Masashi Arita4, Koji Miyamoto4, Taichi Okuda1,4,5 et al.

Akio Kimura1,3,5, Takemi Yamada6, Yuki Yanagi6, Takahiro Onimaru3, and Kenta Kuroda1,3,5

  • *Contact author: ryama@hiroshima-u.ac.jp
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Phys. Rev. Research 7, L022005 – Published 3 April, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevResearch.7.L022005

Abstract

Spin splitting in electronic band structures via antiferromagnetic orders is a new route to control spin-polarized carriers that is available for spintronics applications. Here, we investigated the spin degrees of freedom in the electronic band structures of the antiferromagnet NdBi using laser-based spin- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (laser-SARPES). Our laser-SARPES experiments revealed that the two surface bands that appear in the antiferromagnetic state are spin polarized in opposite directions as a counterpart of the spin splitting. Moreover, we observed that the spin polarization is antisymmetric to the time-reversal invariant momentum, indicating that spin degeneracy is lifted due to the breaking of inversion symmetry at the surface. These results are well reproduced by our density functional theory calculations with the single-q magnetic structure, implying that the spin-split surface state is determined by the breaking of inversion symmetry in concert with the antiferromagnetic order.

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Phys. Rev. Research 7, L022005– Published 3 April, 2025
  • Received 2 August 2024
  • Accepted 19 February 2025
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