Highly anisotropic nonrelativistic charge-to-spin conversion in altermagnets

Abstract

The charge-to-spin conversion provides an efficient way to manipulate the magnetization by electrical means. In this work, we report on a study on the anisotropic nonrelativistic charge-to-spin conversion response to the current direction in altermagnets. We prove that the spin conductivity dictating the charge-to-spin conversion is equivalent to the spin-polarized conductivity difference in the nonrelativistic limit. Based on the general spin-group analysis, we derive analytical expressions for the anisotropic conversion ratio and identify its maximum value. We then exemplify those phenomena in representative altermagnets based on the density functional theory calculations. The highly anisotropic charge-to-spin conversion efficiency, varying from zero to several tens of percent, was demonstrated. Our work shines more light on the exploration of the nonrelativistic generation of spin currents in altermagnets.