Geometry-Driven Nonlinear Orbital Magnetoelectric Effect

Abstract

We propose a nonlinear orbital magnetoelectric effect, which generates orbital magnetization quadratically in centrosymmetric materials where the linear orbital magnetoelectric effect is strictly forbidden. Using extended semiclassical formulation, we derive a gauge-invariant microscopic theory that separates intrinsic and extrinsic contributions and establishes their distinct dependence on the relaxation time, providing an experimental discriminator. In two-dimensional systems the nonlinear response is far less constrained by out-of-plane rotational symmetries than the linear orbital magnetoelectric effect, substantially enlarging the materials platform. Microscopically, the dominant contributions are governed by a Hermitian-connection structure. Finally, we estimate that the magnitude of the nonlinear orbital magnetoelectric effect lies within the sensitivity of state-of-the-art magneto-optical Kerr measurements.