Dresden 2026 – scientific programme

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SYQF: Symposium Interacting Degrees of Freedom in Ultrathin Quantum Films

SYQF 1: Interacting Degrees of Freedom in Ultrathin Quantum Films

SYQF 1.2: Invited Talk

Friday, March 13, 2026, 10:00–10:30, HSZ/AUDI

A tale of demons and decay in two-dimensional (alter)magnets — •Alexander Mook — Universität Münster

Altermagnets are a newly discovered class of magnetic materials that combine broken time-reversal symmetry with zero net magnetization, offering promising opportunities for spintronics. I will introduce the basic principles of altermagnetism and discuss two recent advances in understanding their collective excitations. First, electron-electron interactions create a new type of low-energy mode: spin-polarized acoustic plasmons ("spin demons"). Second, I will show how the splitting of magnon bands enables spontaneous magnon decay driven purely by quantum many-body fluctuations, setting an intrinsic limit on magnon lifetimes. These findings highlight the unconventional excitation physics of altermagnets and their potential for future functional materials.

Keywords: Magnon; Altermagnet; Plasmon; Two-dimensional