Circular Dichroism in Resonant Inelastic X-ray Scattering: Probing Altermagnetic Domains in MnTe
Abstract
X-ray magnetic circular dichroism provides a means to identify ferromagnetic, chiral, and altermagnetic orders via their time-reversal-symmetry (T) breaking. However, differentiating magnetic domains related by crystallographic symmetries remains a technical challenge. Here we reveal a circular dichroism (CD) in the resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS) spectra from the altermagnetic MnTe. The azimuthal dependence of the RIXS-CD intensity of the magnon excitations indicates a dominant occupation of a single altermagnetic domain. The RIXS-CD in our scattering geometry is ascribed to the mirror-symmetry breaking associated with the T-broken altermagnetic order. Our results establish RIXS-CD as a domain-sensitive probe of elementary excitations in quantum materials.
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