In this flat club I will first introduce altermagnets, a new class of magnetic systems where opposite spin sublattices are connected by symmetries that enforce a vanishing net magnetization (like in antiferromagnets) but still allow for a finite spin-splitting of their energy bands even in the absence of spin-orbit coupling (like in ferromagnets). Specific constraints on the symmetries compatible with altermagnetism that arise in two dimensions (2D) will be discussed. I will then illustrate how first-principles density-functional-theory calculations can disclose promising materials candidates by screening extensive databases of 2D materials that can be easily exfoliable from experimentally known 3D parent compounds. Finally, I will discuss potential applications in spin-valleytronics, focusing on semiconducting 2D altermagnets where spin–valley locking leads to band extrema (valleys) located at different points in the Brillouin zone for opposite spin channels, for which a vertical electric field can lift their degeneracy, enabling a simultaneous control of spin and valley polarization.
Location: Stuckelberg, Ecole de Physique
Time: Friday 8 May 2026, 12:30 for pizza, 13:00 start discussion
