Extended s-wave altermagnets

Abstract

We propose extended s-wave altermagnets (sAMs) as a class of magnetic states which are fully gapped, spin-compensated, and feature spin-polarized bands. sAMs are formed through valley-exchange symmetries, which act as momentum-space translations beyond standard crystallographic spin-group classifications. Using an effective two-valley model, we demonstrate that sAMs exhibit isotropic spin splitting, enable spin-selective transport in tailored heterostructures, and give rise to descendant pair density wave order. From a microscopic sAM minimal model, we develop the guiding principles to identify sAMs in quantum magnets.