English

Real and momentum space analysis of topological phases in 2D d-wave altermagnets

Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics 2026-05-19 v2 Mathematical Physics math.MP Quantum Physics

Abstract

Altermagnetism has recently emerged as a third fundamental branch of magnetism, combining the vanishing net magnetization of antiferromagnets with the high-momentum-dependent spin splitting of ferromagnets. This study provides a comprehensive real- and momentum-space analysis of topological phases in two-dimensional d-wave altermagnets. By employing a tight-binding Hamiltonian, we characterize the topological phase transition occurring at a critical intra-sublattice hopping strength (taCt_a^C). We examine the emergence of Dirac nodal points and the resulting Berry curvature singularities, supported by a visual analysis of pseudospin texture winding. Crucially, we analize spin splitting, effective altermagnetic strength, and investigate the transport implications of these phases, uncovering giant conductivity anisotropy and spin-dependent ``steering'' effects driven by group velocity distribution across the Fermi surface. Beyond bulk properties, we analyze the edge state topology in ribbon geometries through the lens of information-theoretic markers like fidelity-susceptibility and inverse participation ratio, offering a robust alternative to traditional Chern number calculations, without relying on translational symmetry. Our results demonstrate that the hybridization of edge states in ultra-narrow nanoribbons opens a controllable energy gap, a feature we exploit to propose a novel topological altermagnetic field-effect transistor design where ballistic and spatially spin-polarized transport can be electrostatically gated. This work establishes a theoretical and information-theoretic framework for ``edgetronics'' in altermagnetic materials, paving the way for next-generation, high-speed spintronic and ``spin-splitter'' logic devices and architectures.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2602.04854,
  title  = {Real and momentum space analysis of topological phases in 2D d-wave altermagnets},
  author = {Manuel Calixto},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2602.04854},
  year   = {2026}
}

Comments

21 pages, 15 figures. The new version incorporates 10 additional references and new comments to situate our work within the context of the excellent and growing body of recent literature