Rashba Spin Demons in Two-Dimensional d-Wave Altermagnets and their Electrostatic Contro

Abstract

Spin demons in d-wave altermagnets are acoustic collective excitations produced by nearly out-ofphase motion of spin-split quasiparticle populations. We identify a new mode, Rashba spin demon mode, in 2D d-wave altermagnets in the presence of Rashba Spin-Orbit Coupling (RSOC). The pristine spin demon mode in altermagnets, without RSOC, is a charge-dark excitation which is invisible to charge-sensitive probes. We show that Rashba spin demon mode is a spin-dominated acoustic mode that is distinct from the pristine mode and has a finite charge density spectral weight. RSOC rotates the quasiparticle spin texture in momentum space, generating mixed charge-spin coherence factors that give the longitudinal spin pole a charge residue. We also show that a nearby metallic gate provides a complementary electrostatic knob by screening the Coulomb interaction and tuning the pole dispersion and linewidth. Within a charge-spin random-phase approximation, we identify regimes where the Rashba mode is underdamped, charge visible, and still predominantly longitudinal-spin-like. Our results establish RSOC and electrostatic screening as complementary controls for tuning the spin and charge character of altermagnetic spin demons and making them accessible to charge probes without destroying their spin-dominated character.