English

Strain as a topological selector in altermagnetic CrSb

Materials Science 2026-01-23 v1

Abstract

Altermagnetism combines fully compensated magnetic order with a magnetic symmetry that relates inequivalent spin sublattices, offering a promising, still underexplored platform for unconventional topological phases. Here we show that both isotropic tensile strain and electron localization, controlled by an effective Hubbard interaction UeffU_{\text{eff}}, can act as efficient and systematic topological control parameters in the altermagnetic Weyl semimetal CrSb. While CrSb hosts Weyl fermions at equilibrium, modest tensile strain of 4-5% stabilizes additional symmetry allowed Dirac crossings and triple-point fermions, with further strain selectively favoring the triple-point phase. We propose a 3D low-energy Hamiltonian that captures the interplay between the Hubbard interaction UU and the sublattice symmetry of the altermagnet, giving rise to an interaction-driven Dirac crossing. Our results establish CrSb as a model altermagnet in which either strain or electron localization can selectively access and control the distinct topologies inherent to the altermagnets.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2601.15916,
  title  = {Strain as a topological selector in altermagnetic CrSb},
  author = {Sumohan Giri and Nirmal Ganguli},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2601.15916},
  year   = {2026}
}

Comments

8 pages, 5 figures

R2 v1 2026-07-01T09:15:43.562Z