Ising and XY paramagnons in two-dimensional 2H-NbSe2

Abstract

Paramagnons are the collective modes that govern the spin response of nearly magnetic conductors. In some cases they mediate electron pairing leading to superconductivity. This scenario may occur in 2H−NbSe2 monolayers, that feature spin-valley coupling on account of spin-orbit interactions and their lack of inversion symmetry. Here we explore spin anisotropy of paramagnons both for noncentrosymmetric Kane-Mele-Hubbard models for 2H−NbSe2 monolayers described with a DFT-derived tight-binding model. In the infinite wavelength limit we find spatially uniform paramagnons with energies around 1 meV that feature a colossal off-plane uniaxial magnetic anisotropy, with quenched transversal spin response. At finite wave vectors, longitudinal and transverse channels reverse roles: XY fluctuations dominate within a significant portion of the Brillouin zone. Our results show that 2H−NbSe2 is close to a Coulomb-driven in-plane (XY) spin density wave instability.