arXiv subjects

Lifa Zhang

Publications and source records attributed to Lifa Zhang.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Giant Thermal-Conductivity Enhancement from Chiral-Phonon Pseudo-Angular Momentum Conservation

Pseudo-angular momentum (PAM) underlies optical selection rules for chiral phonons, but whether it also constrains thermally populated finite-wave-number phonon-phonon scattering has remained unresolved. We show that rotational or screw eigenphase conservation imposes a PAM residue rule on cubic anharmonic vertices, revealing a hidden selection rule for heat transport. In screw-symmetric helical Te, an exact platform, implementing this rule as a projector in first-principles Boltzmann transport leaves spectra and force constants unchanged but removes roughly two thirds of kinematically allowed triplets, suppresses resistive Umklapp relaxation, and enhances lattice thermal conductivity by a factor of 5.30 at 300 K, remaining above fivefold up to 400 K. A bulk chiral-crystal benchmark further shows that explicit eigenphase organization can increase the calculated lattice thermal conductivity by about 24%, comparable to the reported first-principles underestimation of experiment. These results establish PAM conservation as an anharmonic selection principle for chiral-phonon heat transport and as a fundamental principle to guide the prediction and control of thermal conductivity in chiral crystals and nanoscale phononics.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2026

Origin of Giant Phonon Magnetic Moment in Orbital Seebeck Effect: a Heisenberg-type L-L Coupling

Inspired by the recent observation of the orbital Seebeck effect in alpha-quartz, we identify an intrinsic amplification mechanism for thermally generated phonon angular momentum and phonon magnetic moment in chiral insulators. We propose a Heisenberg-type long-range coupling between phonon angular momenta, referred to here as L-L coupling, which opens a self-consistent feedback channel and strongly enhances the bare thermal response within linear response. Our calculations reveal a pronounced temperature- and size-dependent amplification, dominated by the off-diagonal channel, with the total phonon angular momentum enhanced by up to nearly two orders of magnitude as the system approaches the threshold from below. These findings suggest that L-L coupling may provide a microscopic origin of giant phonon magnetic moment the recently observed orbital Seebeck effect in alpha-quartz.

cond-mat.other↗

arXiv2025

Alteraxial Phonons in Collinear Magnets

Axial phonons, carrying angular momentum through rotational lattice vibrations, offer a promising platform for exploring phonon-magnetic coupling effects. However, how the interplay of lattice and magnetism determine the phonon angular momentum (PAM) of axial phonons remains elusive. Here, based on magnetic point group theory, we establish a symmetry framework to classify phonons in collinear magnets (e.g. ferromagnets, antiferromangets, altermagnets) into three distinct categories: ferroaxial, antiferro-nonaxial, and alteraxial phonons, which are distinguished by their different PAM patterns. Beyond the ferroaxial phonons featuring $s$-wave PAM, we reveal a complete series of alteraxial phonons, characterized by higher-order-wave PAM patterns ranging from $p$- to $j$-wave. Notably, alteraxial phonons are not limited to altermagnets, but also emerge in ferromagnets and antiferromagets. Our high-throughput search predicts hundreds of candidate magnetic materials hosting alteraxial phonons. Ab initio calculations on representative magnets further confirm the existence and distinct symmetry-enforced nodal structures of PAM in alteraxial phonons. Our work provides a complete classification for axial phonons in collinear magnetic systems and paves the way for engineering magneto-phononic phenomena.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2025

Inelastic Neutron Scattering for Direct Detection of Chiral Phonons

Chiral phonons have attracted significant attention due to their potential applications in spintronics, superconductivity, and advanced materials, but their detection has predominantly relied on indirect photon-involved processes. Here, we propose inelastic neutron scattering (INS) as a direct and versatile approach for chiral phonon detection over a broad momentum-energy space. Leveraging INS sensitivity to phonon eigenmodes, we clearly distinguish linear, elliptical, and chiral phonons and determine phonon handedness through angle-resolved measurements. Using right-handed tellurium (Te) as a model system, we identify characteristic INS fingerprints that clearly separate chiral from linear phonons. Moreover, we show that INS can directly access phonon magnetic moments and the effective magnetic fields generated by chiral phonons, as evidenced by the pronounced mode splitting in CeF$_3$. Collectively, these results position INS as a powerful platform for comprehensive investigations of chiral-phonon dynamics and their associated quantum phenomena.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2025

Finite-temperature Green's function theory of terahertz-induced phonon angular momentum in polar crystals

We develop a self-energy-dressed Green's-function framework for terahertz-induced phonon angular momentum in polar crystals. The rectified angular-momentum response is formulated as a second-order response and, within a dressed-bubble approximation, is expressed in terms of retarded phonon propagators weighted by mode-resolved polarization and angular-momentum matrix elements. Anharmonic self-energies enter through the dressed propagators, incorporating finite-temperature frequency renormalization and linewidth broadening directly into the response kernel. Applying this framework to wurtzite GaN, we show that the terahertz propagation direction and polarization select distinct rotational phonon channels: a nondegenerate $\mathrm{E}_{1}(\mathrm{TO})$--$\mathrm{A}_{1}(\mathrm{TO})$ channel with phase- and frequency-tunable angular momentum, and a degenerate $\mathrm{E}_{1}(\mathrm{TO})$ channel with helicity-selected response. Anharmonic broadening suppresses and smooths the resonant structures while preserving the characteristic phase dependence of each channel. An order-of-magnitude estimate based on the phonon inverse Faraday-effect framework gives an mT-scale effective magnetic field for representative electron--phonon coupling strengths. This work places coherent terahertz-driven circular-phonon physics in a first-principles-based response framework and provides a starting point for going beyond constant-damping driven-mode descriptions.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2025

Magic of nonlocal geometric force: lighting up optical transition and transporting angular momentum by chiral phonons

We investigate the impact of the nonlocal geometric force -- arising from the molecular Berry curvature -- on the lattice dynamics of magnetic materials with broken time-reversal symmetry. A first-principles computational framework is established to evaluate this force across the entire Brillouin zone. We apply it to monolayer CoCl$_2$, a ferromagnetic half-semiconductor with a narrow bandgap forbidding direct dipolar optical transition. At the phonon Brillouin zone center, the pronounced nonlocal geometric force leads to a splitting of the two upper optical phonon branches by $3 \times 10^{-2}$ THz, transforming the phonons into chiral modes. Optical chiral phonons can light up the intravalley dark exciton via absorpting circularly polarized photons. Furthermore, acoustic chiral phonons induced by the nonlocal geometric force can transport angular momentum and contribute to a non-dissipative phonon Hall viscosity.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2025

Ultrafast switching of photoinduced phonon chirality in the antiferrochiral BPO$_{4}$ crystal

In crystalline systems, chiral crystals cannot interconvert to their enantiomorph post-synthesis without undergoing melting-recrystallization processes. However, recent work indicates that ultrafast terahertz-polarized light has been shown to enable dynamic control of structural chirality in the antiferrochiral boron phosphate (BPO$_4$) crystal. Here, using first-principles calculations and nonlinear phonon dynamics simulations, we investigate the underlying physics of lattice dynamics in this system. The results demonstrate that polarized optical pumping not only induces chiral phonons but also establishes a chirality-selective filtering mechanism, both of which can be reversibly switched by tuning the polarization of the excitation pulse. Furthermore, under a temperature gradient, the pump-induced chiral phonons give rise to ultrafast phonon magnetization, with its direction also controllable via light polarization. Our findings establish a new paradigm for ultrafast optical control of phonon chirality via dynamic chirality switching, offering promising opportunities for chiral information transfer and the design of chiral phononic devices.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2025

Ab Initio Theory of Phonon Magnetic Moment Induced by Electron-Phonon Coupling in Magnetic Materials

Circularly polarized phonons, characterized by nonzero angular momenta and magnetic moments, have attracted extensive attention. However, a long-standing critical issue in this field is the lack of an approach to accurately calculate phonon magnetic moments resulting from electron-phonon coupling (EPC) in realistic materials. Here, based on the linear response framework, we develop an ab initio theory for calculating EPC-induced magnetic properties of phonons, applicable to both insulating and metallic materials. Our method can precisely calculate phonon Zeeman splittings in magnetic metals with significant EPC, as demonstrated by the remarkable agreement with recent experimental observations of phonon Zeeman splitting in the ferromagnetic Weyl semimetal Co3Sn2S2. In addition, the long-sought magnetic phonon spectra across the entire Brillouin zone are obtained, facilitating the study of magnetic phonon transport and topology. Specifically, by constructing an inertially decoupled lattice model, we propose candidate materials exhibiting intrinsic phonon Chern states with robust unidirectional edge phonon currents. Our work paves the way for investigating novel phonon phenomena in magnetic quantum materials.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2024

Exciton-activated effective phonon magnetic moment in monolayer MoS2

Optical excitation of chiral phonons plays a vital role in studying the phonon-driven magnetic phenomena in solids. Transition metal dichalcogenides host chiral phonons at high symmetry points of the Brillouin zone, providing an ideal platform to explore the interplay between chiral phonons and valley degree of freedom. Here, we investigate the helicity-resolved magneto-Raman response of monolayer MoS2 and identify a doubly degenerate Brillouin-zone-center chiral phonon mode at ~270 cm-1. Our wavelength- and temperature-dependent measurements show that this chiral phonon is activated through the resonant excitation of A exciton. Under an out-of-plane magnetic field, the chiral phonon exhibits giant Zeeman splitting, which corresponds to an effective magnetic moment of ~2.5mu_B. Moreover, we carry out theoretical calculations based on the morphic effects in nonmagnetic crystals, which reproduce the linear Zeeman splitting and Raman cross-section of the chiral phonon. Our study provides important insights into lifting the chiral phonon degeneracy in an achiral covalent material, paving a new route to excite and control chiral phonons.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2023

Phonon chirality manipulation mechanism in TMD interlayer-sliding ferroelectrics

As an ideal platform, both the theoretical prediction and first experimental verification of chiral phonons are based on transition-metal dichalcogenide materials. The manipulation of phonon chirality in these materials will have a profound impact on the study of chiral phonons. In this work, we utilize the sliding ferroelectric mechanism to study the phonon chirality manipulation mechanism in transition-metal dichalcogenide materials. Based on first-principles calculations, we study the different effects of interlayer sliding on the phonon properties in bilayer and four-layer MoS$_2$ sliding ferroelectrics. We find that sliding can regulate phonon chirality and Berry curvature, which further affects the phonon angular momentum and magnetization under a temperature gradient and the phonon Hall effect under a magnetic field. Our work connects two emerging fields and opens up a new route to manipulate phonon chirality in transition-metal dichalcogenide materials through the sliding ferroelectric mechanism.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2023

Electrically Controllable Chiral Phonons in Ferroelectric Materials

Chiral phonons have attracted increasing attention, as they play important roles in many different systems and processes. However, a method to control phonon chirality by external fields is still lacking. Here, we propose that in displacement-type ferroelectric materials, an external electric field can reverse the chirality of chiral phonons via ferroelectric switching. Using first-principles calculations, we demonstrate this point in the well known two-dimensional ferroelectric In$_2$Se$_3$. This reversal may lead to a number of electrically switchable phenomena, such as chiral phonon induced magnetization, phonon Hall effect, and possible interface phonon modes at ferroelectric domain boundaries. Our work offers a new way to control chiral phonons, which could be useful for the design of thermal or information devices based on them.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2023

Modulating Thermal Conductivity via Targeted Phonon Excitation

Thermal conductivity is a critical material property in numerous applications, such as those related to thermoelectric devices and heat dissipation. Effectively modulating thermal conductivity has become a great concern in the field of heat conduction. In this study, a quantum strategy is proposed to modulate thermal conductivity by exciting targeted phonons. The results show that the thermal conductivity of graphene can be tailored in the range of 1559 W/m-K (49%) to 4093 W/m-K (128%), compared with the intrinsic value of 3189 W/m-K. A similar trend is also observed for graphene nanoribbons. The results are obtained through both ab initio calculations and molecular dynamics simulations. This brand-new quantum strategy to modulate thermal conductivity paves a way for quantum heat conduction.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2022

Nanoporous Structure of Sintered Metal Powder Heat Exchanger in Dilution Refrigeration: A Numerical Study

We use LAMMPS to randomly pack hard spheres to simulate the heat exchanger, where the hard spheres represent sintered metal particles in the heat exchanger. We simulated the heat exchanger under different sphere radii and different packing fractions of the metal particle and researched pore space. To improve the performance of the heat exchanger, we adopted this simulation method to explore when the packing fraction is 65%, the optimal sintering particle radius in the heat exchanger is 30~35nm.

physics.comp-ph↗

arXiv2022

Chiral Phonon Mediated High-Temperature Superconductivity

Breaking down the traditional perception on phonons which are achiral, the recent discovery of chiral phonon carrying angular momentum provides possible ways to couple electron, photon, spin, magnon and exciton, etc. We theoretically proposed an electron-chiral phonon interaction with two-phonon process, in contrast to conventional electron-phonon interaction, and a kind of effective Hubbard U through exchanging two chiral phonons is proposed. Taking two-dimensional diatomic honeycomb lattice as an example, we found this repulsive Hubbard U mediated by chiral phonons induces unconventional and high-temperature superconductivity. Moreover, the numerical calculations show an inverse isotope effect which is consistent with experimental observations in high-$T_c$ superconductors. Our finding on electron-chiral phonon and the associated Cooper pair provides a path to understand the high-$T_c$ superconductivity.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2022

Abnormal Phonon Angular Momentum due to Off-diagonal Elements in Density Matrix induced by Temperature Gradient

Nonzero mean value of phonon angular momentum (PAM) in chiral materials can be generated when a temperature gradient is applied. We find that both diagonal and off-diagonal terms of PAM contribute to mean PAM by using the Kubo formula where both diagonal and off-diagonal elements of the heat current operator are considered. The calculation results show that the off-diagonal term is dominant when the phonon scattering is strong enough. This finding reveals that the quantum transition between different phonon modes induced by temperature gradient strongly affects the local atomic rotation. Our discovery provides an explanation of the recently observed chiral phonon activated spin Seebeck effect.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2022

Chiral Phonon Activated Spin Seebeck Effect

Efficient generation of spin polarization is the central focus of spintronics. In magnetic materials, spin currents can arise from heat currents by the conventional spin Seebeck effect. Recently, chiral phonons with definite handedness and angular momenta have also produced profound impacts on multiple research fields. In this paper, starting with nonequilibrium distribution of chiral phonons under temperature gradient, we find a new spin selectivity effect - chiral phonon activated spin Seebeck (CPASS) effect, in chiral materials without magnetic order nor spin-orbit coupling. With both phonon-drag and band transport contributions, the CPASS coefficients are computed based on the Boltzmann transport theory. The spin accumulations by the CPASS effect quadratically increase with temperature gradient, and vary with the chemical potential modulation, thus enabling highly efficient and tunable spin generation. The CPASS effect provides a promising explanation on the chiral-induced spin selectivity effect and opportunities for designing advanced spintronic devices based on nonmagnetic chiral materials.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2021

Chiral phonons in a square lattice

Chiral phonons were initially proposed and further verified experimentally in two-dimensional (2D) hexagonal crystal lattices. Many intriguing features brought about by chiral phonons are attributed to the pseudo-angular momenta which are associated with the threefold rotational symmetry of hexagonal lattices. Here, we go beyond the hexagonal crystals and investigate the chiral phonons in systems with fourfold rotational symmetry. We clarify the symmetry requirements for the emergence of chiral phonons in both 2D square lattices and 3D tetragonal lattices. For 2D, the realization of $C_4$ chiral phonons requires the breaking of time-reversal symmetry; while for 3D, they can exist on the $C_4$-invariant path in a chiral tetragonal lattice. These phonons have the advantage that they can be more readily coupled with optical transitions, which facilitates their experimental detection. We demonstrate our idea via model analysis and first-principles calculations of concrete materials, including the MnAs monolayer and the $α$-cristobalite. Our work reveals chiral phonons beyond the hexagonal lattices and paves the way for further exploration of chiral phonon physics in square/tetragonal materials and metamaterials.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2021

Phononic real Chern insulator with protected corner modes in graphynes

Higher-order topological insulators have attracted great research interest recently. Different from conventional topological insulators, higher-order topological insulators do not necessarily require spin-orbit coupling, which makes it possible to realize them in spinless systems. Here, we study phonons in 2D graphyne family materials. By using first-principle calculations and topology/symmetry analysis, we find that phonons in both graphdiyne and $γ$-graphyne exhibit a second-order topology, which belongs to the specific case known as real Chern insulator. We identify the nontrivial phononic band gaps, which are characterized by nontrivial real Chern numbers enabled by the spacetime inversion symmetry. The protected phonon corner modes are verified by the calculation on a finite-size nanodisk. Our study extends the scope of higher-order topology to phonons in real materials. The spatially localized phonon modes could be useful for novel phononic applications.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗