Spin pumping in an altermagnet/normal metal bilayer

Abstract

Altermagnetism is a subclass of antiferromagnetism that features spin-polarized electron bands of a non-relativistic origin despite the absence of a net magnetiation in the material. We here theoretically study spin pumping from an altermagnetic insulator into a normal metal. The symmetry properties of the lattice and spin order of the altermagnet alters the magnon dispersion compared to a conventional square lattice antiferromagnet. We find that for a homogeneous magnetic field, the spin pumping current is the same as that of a regular antiferromagnet. If, however the magnetic field becomes spatially dependent, we predict that the altermagnetic order leaves a unique fingerprint on the spin pumping behaviour when the orientation of the spatial modulation does not align with the high-symmetry paths of magnon degeneracy in the altermagnet. This demonstrates that altermagnets can be used for THz spin pumping purposes with novel behaviour, distinguishing them from their regular antiferromagnet counterparts.