Large spontaneous nonreciprocal charge transport in a zero-magnetization antiferromagnet

Sudo, Kenta*; Yanagi, Yuki*; Akaki, Mitsuru*; Tanida, Hiroshi*; Kimata, Motoi

We report the observation and properties of spontaneous (i.e., zero-magnetic field) nonreciprocal charge transport in the zigzag intermetallic compound NdRuAl. This effect is attributed to the antiferromagnetic order, which can be interpreted as a magnetic toroidal dipole order. Our results reveal an excessively large nonreciprocal coefficient for this material, attributed to the strong effective magnetic field generated through c-f exchange interactions. The results also suggest that the nonreciprocal response of this material depends on the spin configurations of the antiferromagnetic domains. Overall, our findings are distinct from those previously reported for field-induced nonreciprocal charge transport and contribute to a comprehensive understanding of cross-correlations in symmetry-broken metals.