arXiv · 1710.01023
Spin-wave chirality and its manifestations in antiferromagnets
Abstract
As first demonstrated by Tang and Cohen in chiral optics, the asymmetry in the rate of electromagnetic energy absorption between left and right enantiomers is determined by an optical chirality density [1]. Here, we demonstrate that this effect can exist in magnetic spin systems. By constructing a formal analogy with electrodynamics, we show that in antiferromagnets with broken chiral symmetry the asymmetry in local spin-wave energy absorption is proportional to a spin-wave chirality density, which is a direct counterpart of optical zilch. We propose that injection of a pure spin current into an antiferromagnet may serve as a chiral symmetry breaking mechanism, since its effect in the spin-wave approximation can be expressed in terms of additional Lifshitz invariants. We use linear response theory to show that the spin current induces a nonequilibrium spin-wave chirality density.
Explore related subjects
Keep this discovery
Explore connections, maps & timelines
Igor Proskurin, Robert L. Stamps, Alexander S. Ovchinnikov, Jun-ichiro Kishine. 2017-10-30. Spin-wave chirality and its manifestations in antiferromagnets. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.119.177202
Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.