Electronic thermal conductivity of doped Rashba–Floquet <i>d</i> -wave altermagnets

Abstract

Altermagnets, a novel class of collinear magnets with momentum-dependent spin splitting and zero net magnetization, offer unique opportunities for tunable thermal transport. Here, we investigate the electronic thermal conductivity (ETC) in two-dimensional d-wave altermagnets, focusing on its anisotropy and responsiveness to external perturbations, such as electrostatic gating, circularly polarized light driving, and doping. Employing a semiclassical Boltzmann transport framework with relaxation-time approximation, we derive expressions for the ETC tensor integrated over the Floquet-renormalized quasiparticle spectrum. Our model incorporates Rashba spin–orbit coupling from perpendicular gating and Floquet engineering via high-frequency optical driving, which collectively modify the band structure, spin textures, and carrier velocities. Numerical evaluations reveal pronounced directional anisotropy in the ETC along principal crystallographic axes, with gating enhancing in-plane distortions and light driving enabling dynamic renormalization of the altermagnetic gap and Rashba parameters. These effects yield temperature-dependent thermal responses that deviate from the pristine phase of matter, positioning altermagnets as versatile platforms for thermospintronic devices and heat management without net magnetization.