2026/07/23 by Ding Li, Tao Qin, Jianhui Zhou
#cond-mat.mes-hall
Altermagnets, a new class of collinear antiferromagnets, exhibit momentum-dependent spin splitting and offer compelling advantages for antiferromagnetic spintronics. However, the magnetic order is intrinsically difficult to read out, which hinders practical applications. We propose finite-momentum circular phonon dichroism as a direct probe of Néel vector in two-dimensional d-wave altermagnets. Combining Onsager reciprocity with C2z lattice symmetry, we find that the dichroic signal reverses sign when the Néel vector is flipped for the in-plane phonon wave vectors. Moreover, a channel-resolved decomposition identifies the circular phonon dichroism originates from the interband coherent transitions. Representative finite-momentum cuts show pronounced dichroic asymmetric ratio, with |ηCPD|=37.3%. Our work reveals that the circular-ultrasound absorption acts as a direct probe of the Néel vector of d-wave altermagnets.