Sub-spin-flop switching of a fully compensated antiferromagnet by magnetic field

Honglin Zhou; Muyu Wang; Yinina Ma; Xiaoyan Ma; Gang Li; Zihao Tao; Xiquan Zheng; Liqin Yan; Yingying Peng; Ding-Fu Shao; Bo Liu; Shiliang Li

arXiv · 2509.07351

Sub-spin-flop switching of a fully compensated antiferromagnet by magnetic field

Honglin Zhou·Muyu Wang·Yinina Ma·Xiaoyan Ma·Gang Li·Zihao Tao·Xiquan Zheng·Liqin Yan·Yingying Peng·Ding-Fu Shao·Bo Liu·Shiliang Li

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Abstract

The control of antiferromagnets by magnetic fields represents a fundamental challenge in condensed matter physics, owing to their fully compensated magnetic order and vanishing net magnetization. Conventional methods rely on either uncompensated moments or high-field spin-flop transitions. Here, we demonstrate low-field switching in the fully compensated antiferromagnet CeNiAsO -- a material recently proposed as a candidate for $p$-wave magnetism. Using an in-plane magnetic field well below the spin-flop threshold, we selectively stabilize one of two degenerate antiferromagnetic domains with mutually orthogonal sublattice orientations. This field-induced domain selection allows reversible and nonvolatile switching of a giant in-plane resistivity anisotropy up to $\sim35\,\%$ -- a magnitude that far exceeds conventional anisotropy signals driven by spin-orbit coupling. The switching behavior persists across both the low-temperature noncollinear N\'{e}el phase and the higher-temperature collinear spin-density-wave phase, highlighting the universality of the domain-selection mechanism. Our work establishes a practical approach for manipulating compensated antiferromagnets with modest magnetic fields and underscores their potential for high-performance spintronic devices based on giant and switchable resistivity anisotropy.

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Honglin Zhou, Muyu Wang, Yinina Ma, Xiaoyan Ma, Gang Li, Zihao Tao, Xiquan Zheng, Liqin Yan, Yingying Peng, Ding-Fu Shao, Bo Liu, Shiliang Li. 2025-09-09. Sub-spin-flop switching of a fully compensated antiferromagnet by magnetic field. https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.07351

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