Magnetization induced by a nonlinear response to temperature gradient in $d^{\prime }$, $g^{\prime }$ and $i^{\prime }$ altermagnets

Abstract

It is a highly nontrivial question whether magnetization is induced by a nonlinear response to a temperature gradient in systems where the linear response is forbidden by inversion symmetry. In this work, we address this issue and provide explicit examples demonstrating that such a response can indeed arise. The spin-split electron band structures induced by $d$-wave, $g $-wave, $i$-wave altermagnets are characterized by $k^{N_{X}}\sin N_{X}\phi $ around the band bottom, where $N_{X}=2,4$ and $6$, respectively. In contrast, those of the corresponding $d^{\prime }$-wave, $g^{\prime }$-wave, $i^{\prime }$-wave altermagnets are described by $k^{N_{X}}\cos N_{X}\phi $. We show that a finite magnetization is induced in the $d^{\prime }$-wave, $g^{\prime }$-wave, $i^{\prime }$-wave altermagnets under a second-order nonlinear response to a temperature gradient $(\partial_{x}T)^2$ when the temperature gradient is linear and along either the $x$ or $y$ direction, whereas no such response occurs in the $d$-wave, $g$-wave and $i$-wave altermagnets. We also study the case where the direction of the temperature gradient is arbitrary. In this case, a finite magnetization is induced also in $d$-wave altermagnets but not in $g $-wave and $i$-wave altermagnets. We discuss the difference in physics between the $X$-wave and $X^{\prime }$-wave altermagnets with $X=d,g,i$ based on the tight-binding model. Furthermore, we show the emergence of the magnetization as a response when the temperature profile is not linear, $\partial _{x}^{2}T\neq 0$.