Symmetry-selective nonrelativistic spin splitting in antiferromagnets driven by coherent phonons

Abstract

Nonrelativistic spin splitting (NRSS) in antiferromagnets (AFMs) enables magnetization-free spin polarization for ultrafast spintronics. Here, we demonstrate that coherent phonons can dynamically induce and control NRSS in collinear AFMs. Excitation of $Γ$-point infrared-active phonons lifts the spin degeneracy of the ground state, while the residual sublattice-connecting symmetries determine the momentum-space form of the induced splitting. Because the relevant infrared modes couple to orthogonal in-plane light polarizations, distinct spin-split phases can be selectively activated by the polarization of the driving field. Using first-principles calculations for MnPS$_3$, we show that a mode that breaks all sublattice-connecting symmetries induces an $s$-wave spin-split state with $Δ(Γ)\neq0$, whereas a symmetry-distinct mode that preserves a sublattice-connecting mirror symmetry generates a $d$-wave altermagnetic state with $Δ(Γ)=0$. In both cases, the spin splitting grows linearly with the phonon amplitude and reverses the induced spin polarization when the displacement is reversed. Our results establish coherent lattice driving as a direct, polarization- and mode-selective route to dynamically induce distinct NRSS phases in AFMs.