DOI: 10.3390/applnano7030023 ISSN: 2673-3501

Bessel-Controlled Topological Switching in Altermagnet–Topological-Insulator Interfaces

Carlos Caro, Francisco Gámez

Altermagnets combine compensated magnetic order with momentum-dependent spin splitting, enabling Berry-curvature control without net magnetization. Here we investigate mechanically driven altermagnet–topological-insulator (AM/TI) interfaces in which periodic modulation of the crystalline phase selectively renormalizes the cycle-averaged interfacial exchange harmonics through exact Bessel-function averaging. The resulting harmonic-selective control introduces a new tuning parameter—the drive amplitude—that continuously reshapes the angular mass texture and enables re-entrant transitions between distinct topological sectors. Using continuum Berry-curvature calculations, we show that amplitude-controlled modulation of the twofold and fourfold exchange harmonics produces topological switching, Hall-conductivity suppression near Bessel zeros, and enhanced thermoelectric responses. Cyclic driving protocols further generate nontrivial winding trajectories in the experimentally accessible two-mass control plane, providing a geometric characterization of adiabatic modulation cycles through a winding invariant. To establish the topological character of the predicted phases, the continuum results are independently validated using compact Brillouin-zone lattice regularization, gauge-invariant Fukui–Hatsugai–Suzuki Chern-number calculations, and open-boundary ribbon spectra. The proposed mechanism operates in the adiabatic regime accessible to piezoelectric and surface-acoustic-wave actuation at MHz frequencies and is compatible with strain-tunable AM/TI heterostructures at cryogenic temperatures. These results identify mechanically driven AM/TI interfaces as a platform for programmable topological transport and harmonic-selective Berry-curvature engineering.

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