Speaker
Description
Manganese telluride (MnTe) is a prototypical antiferromagnet with a spin-polarised electronic structure, recently classified as an altermagnet, with a critical temperature T_C≈310 K. In this work, we investigate the structural changes associated with magnetic moment reorientation in the altermagnetic phase using high-resolution X-ray diffraction (HR-XRD). Temperature-dependent diffraction patterns were measured from helium/nitrogen temperatures up to room temperature, enabling precise determination of the lattice parameters a and c.
The extracted temperature dependences a(T), c(T) and the ratio c/a(T) reveal a distinct change in slope at approximately 260 K. This anomaly coincides with the spin reorientation transition, during which the magnetic moments rotate by approximately 30° from alignment along the a*-axis (below 260 K) toward the a-direction (above 260 K).
Our results demonstrate a coupling between the crystal lattice and the magnetic subsystem, providing evidence of magnetoelastic effects in MnTe. The observed structural signatures offer complementary insight to microscopic magnetic probes and contribute to a more complete understanding of the spin reorientation mechanism in this material.
