Magnetic Field Control of the Néel Vector and Magnon Visibility in Altermagnetic MnTe

Abstract

Altermagnetic order gives rise to momentum-dependent spin splitting of electronic and magnonic excitations even in the absence of a net magnetization. Here, we investigate the magnetic field dependence of the spin-wave spectrum of altermagnetic $α$-MnTe using inelastic neutron scattering and linear spin-wave theory. An in-plane magnetic field continuously reorients the Néel vector by overcoming the weak crystalline anisotropy, while remaining small compared with the dominant exchange scale. We find that this reorientation leaves the magnon energies and line widths essentially unchanged, but strongly modifies the measured spectral intensity through the transverse-momentum projection. Our results demonstrate a clear separation between the soft orientational degree of freedom of the antiferromagnetic order and the robust exchange-dominated chiral magnon spectrum. This combination establishes $α$-MnTe as a platform for reconfigurable magnon coupling, in which external fields tune how excitations interact with polarized probes without substantially altering their frequency or coherence.