Rotation-Induced Orbital Currents in Ferro-Rotational Systems

Abstract: Generation of orbital angular momentum has become important to effectuate new ways to address switchable magnetic devices. Here, we demonstrate the electrical generation of unconventional orbital currents in ferro-rotational systems through an intrinsic, nonrelativistic mechanism associated with an electric hexadecapole moment. These rotation-induced orbital currents are examined using tight-binding models, and we also provide first-principles calculations for the ferro-rotational material TiAu$_4$. Our findings unveil a novel pathway for generating orbital currents beyond the conventional orbital Hall effect, broadening the landscape of orbitronics research to include novel ferroic materials and higher-order electric multipoles.