Abstract
Unusual behavior in quantum materials commonly arises from their effective low-dimensional physics, reflecting the underlying anisotropy in the spin and charge degrees of freedom. Here we introduce the magnetotropic coefficient k = ∂(2)F/∂θ(2), the second derivative of the free energy F with respect to the magnetic field orientation θ in the crystal. We show that the magnetotropic coefficient can be quantitatively determined from a shift in the resonant frequency of a commercially available atomic force microscopy cantilever under magnetic field. This detection method enables part per 100 million sensitivity and the ability to measure magnetic anisotropy in nanogram-scale samples, as demonstrated on the Weyl semimetal NbP. Measurement of the magnetotropic coefficient in the spin-liquid candidate RuCl(3) highlights its sensitivity to anisotropic phase transitions and allows a quantitative comparison to other thermodynamic coefficients via the Ehrenfest relations.