Experimental Evidence for a Berry Curvature Quadrupole in an Antiferromagnet

Abstract

Berry curvature multipoles appearing in topological quantum materials have recently attracted much attention. Their presence can manifest in novel phenomena, such as nonlinear anomalous Hall effects (NLAHE). The notion of Berry curvature multipoles extends our understanding of Berry curvature effects on the material properties. Hence, research on this subject is of fundamental importance and may also enable future applications in energy harvesting and high-frequency technology. It was shown that a Berry curvature dipole can give rise to a second-order NLAHE in materials of low crystalline symmetry. Here, we demonstrate a fundamentally new mechanism for Berry curvature multipoles in antiferromagnets that are supported by the underlying magnetic symmetries. Carrying out electric transport measurements on the kagome antiferromagnet FeSn, we observe a third-order NLAHE, which appears as a transverse voltage response at the third harmonic frequency when a longitudinal ac drive is applied. Interestingly, this NLAHE is strongest at and above room temperature. We combine these measurements with a scaling law analysis, a symmetry analysis, model calculations, first-principle calculations, and magnetic Monte Carlo simulations to show that the observed NLAHE is induced by a Berry curvature quadrupole appearing in the spin-canted state of FeSn. At a practical level, our study establishes NLAHE as a sensitive probe of antiferromagnetic phase transitions in other materials—such as moiré superlattices, two-dimensional van der Waal magnets, and quantum spin liquid candidates, which remain poorly understood to date. More broadly, Berry curvature multipole effects are predicted to exist for 90 magnetic point groups. Hence, our work opens a new research area to study a variety of topological magnetic materials through nonlinear measurement protocols.