Kavli Affiliate: Darrell G. Schlom
| First 5 Authors: Benjamin Z. Gregory, Benjamin Z. Gregory, , ,
| Summary:
Excitement about the magnetic and electronic properties of RuO$_2$ is
growing, fueled by reports of antiferromagnetism, strain-induced
superconductivity, and its recent classification as a member of a newly
proposed magnetic class, altermagnets, with RuO$_2$ widely regarded as the
paradigmatic example. Nevertheless, the magnetic ground state of RuO$_2$
remains contentious, as several recent experiments report no evidence of
magnetic order. To address this discrepancy, we performed resonant elastic
scattering measurements on a series of epitaxial RuO$_2$ thin films grown on
the (100)-plane of TiO$_2$ substrates across a range of strain states.
Leveraging full polarization control and azimuthal scans of the structurally
forbidden 100 Bragg reflection, we systematically tested for signatures of
colinear antiferromagnetic order. We found that the resonant elastic scattering
signal in RuO$_2$ thin films likely originates from anisotropic charge
scattering, not long-range antiferromagnetic order. Using angle-resolved
photoemission spectroscopy we uncover a band structure without altermagnetic
band splitting that is consistent with a nonmagnetic phase. Similarly,
anisotropic magnetoresistance results show no evidence of magnetism. The
combination of three independent measurements suggests the absence of
altermagnetism in RuO$_2$.
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