Viscoelastic tensor and hydrodynamics of altermagnets

Abstract

We calculate the viscoelasticity tensor for altermagnets and formulate the corresponding hydrodynamic equations. The anisotropy of altermagnetic Fermi surfaces allows for additional terms in the viscoelasticity tensor and is manifested in transport properties, including electron and spin flows in a channel and nonlocal responses. In the channel geometry, the altermagnetic spin splitting leads to nontrivial spin density and spin current. Like the electric current, the spin current acquires a Poiseuille profile for no-slip boundary conditions. In nonlocal responses, the altermagnetic anisotropy affects current streamlines and electric potential distributions in the viscous regime. Our results provide signatures of the hydrodynamic transport regime in altermagnets, potentially facilitating its experimental studies and discovery.