Room-temperature flexible manipulation of the quantum-metric structure in a topological chiral antiferromagnet

Han, J.*; Uchimura, Tomohiro*; Araki, Yasufumi; Yoon, J.-Y.*; Takeuchi, Yutaro*; Yamane, Yuta*; Kanai, Shun*; Ieda, Junichi; Ohno, Hideo*; Fukami, Shunsuke*

Nature Physics, 21 Pages, 2024/04

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-024-02476-2

Quantum metric and Berry curvature are two fundamental and distinct factors to describe the geometry of quantum eigenstates. While Berry curvature is known for playing crucial roles in several condensed-matter states, quantum metric, which was predicted to induce new classes of topological phenomena, has rarely been touched, particularly in an ambient circumstance. Using a topological chiral antiferromagnet MnSn adjacent to Pt, at room temperature, we successfully manipulate the quantum-metric structure of electronic states through its interplay with the nanoscale spin texture at the MnSn/Pt interface. This is manifested by a time-reversal-odd second-order Hall effect that is robust against extrinsic electron scattering, in contrast to any transport effects from the Berry curvature. We also verify the flexibility of controlling the quantum-metric structure, as the interacting spin texture can be tuned by moderate magnetic fields or by interface engineering via spin-orbit interactions. Our work paves a way for harnessing the quantum-metric structure to unveil emerging topological physics in practical environments and to build applicable nonlinear devices.