Electric field controlled second-order anomalous Hall effect in altermagnets

Abstract

Altermagnets are a recently discovered class of compensated magnets with momentum-dependent spin splittings and unusual transport properties, even without a net magnetization. In the presence of combined four-fold rotation and time-reversal ($C_4\mathcal{T}$) symmetry, linear and also second-order, driven by a Berry curvature dipole, anomalous Hall responses are forbidden in any pure $d$-wave altermagnet. Nevertheless, here we find that the nontrivial quantum metric of the occupied Bloch states allows for an electric field induced Berry curvature dipole, which generates a strong and tunable second-order Hall current, enabling it to be switched on or off by simply adjusting the relative orientation between the symmetry-reducing dc field and the ac probe field. Specifically, we investigate the electric field induced second-order anomalous Hall response in a two-dimensional Rashba-coupled hybrid altermagnet that interpolates between $d_{x^2-y^2}$ ($B_{1g}$) and $d_{xy}$ ($B_{2g}$) altermagnet symmetry, motivated by recent proposals for mixed-symmetry states. Crucially, the nonlinear signal is highly sensitive to the underlying symmetry of the altermagnetic order at specific doping levels, offering a purely electrical method to distinguish distinct altermagnetic orders. Our results position hybrid altermagnets as a promising platform for controllable nonlinear transport and spintronic applications.