Flat Club - Marco Gibertini (University of Modena and Reggio Emilia) - A first-principles journey into altermagnetic flatlands

08.05.2026 12:30 – 13:30

A first-principles journey into altermagnetic flatlands
Marco Gibertini, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia

In this flat club I will first introduce altermagnets, a new class of magnetic systems where opposite spin sublattices are connected by symmetries that enforce a vanishing net magnetization (like in antiferromagnets) but still allow for a finite spin-splitting of their energy bands even in the absence of spin-orbit coupling (like in ferromagnets). Specific constraints on the symmetries compatible with altermagnetism that arise in two dimensions (2D) will be discussed. I will then illustrate how first-principles density-functional-theory calculations can disclose promising materials candidates by screening extensive databases of 2D materials that can be easily exfoliable from experimentally known 3D parent compounds. Finally, I will discuss potential applications in spin-valleytronics, focusing on semiconducting 2D altermagnets where spin–valley locking leads to band extrema (valleys) located at different points in the Brillouin zone for opposite spin channels, for which a vertical electric field can lift their degeneracy, enabling a simultaneous control of spin and valley polarization.

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Lieu

Bâtiment: Ecole de Physique

Auditoire Stueckelberg
Pizza: 12:30, Start discussion: 13:00

entrée libre