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Level 3 · Magnetism in layered materials

Antiferromagnetism (AFM)

↑ ↓ ↑ ↓

Neighboring layers cancel each other out. CrSBr's natural ground state — calm, with no net magnetization.

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An antiferromagnet (AFM) hides its magnetism well. The spins line up antiparallel from one layer to the next, so their bulk magnetisation cancels. That is the natural state of CrSBr at zero field.

AFM 30Mixed 0FM 0
The default preset. Every site is classified as AFM (blue) by the 3-cell rule.

A-type AFM, specifically

CrSBr is an A-type antiferromagnet: spins are ferromagnetic within each atomic layer but antiferromagnetic between layers. From our 1D-stack perspective this looks like a perfect ↑↓↑↓ chain along the depth axis.

Key takeaways
  • AFM = neighboring spins anti-parallel, net magnetisation zero.
  • It is CrSBr's ground state and the simulator's default.
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