Work

Magnetic Signature of Chiral Phonons Revealed by Neutron Spectroscopy in Ferrimagnetic Fe 1.75 Zn 0.25 Mo 3 O 8

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Lattice vibrations can carry angular momentum and magnetic moments under broken inversion or time-reversal symmetry, forming so-called chiral phonons. While such excitations have been explored in nonmagnetic systems via optical probes, their direct detection in magnetic materials and coupling to spin excitations remain largely unexplored. Here, using neutron spectroscopy, sensitive to both nuclear and magnetic scattering, we reveal the magnetic signature of chiral phonons in ferrimagnetic Fe_{1.75}Zn_{0.25}Mo_{3}O_{8} with Curie temperature T_{C}∼49 K. Below T_{C}, we observe enhanced magnetic scattering of phonons at small momenta, arising from strong magnon-phonon coupling. In addition, out-of-plane intensity modulation, phonon mode splitting, and field-induced Zeeman shifts are observed, all closely associated with the ferrimagnetic order. These features vanish above T_{C}, where phonon spectra are dominated by nuclear scattering. These observations demonstrate the existence of chiral phonons carrying substantial magnetic moments that directly contribute to magnetic scattering, and establish neutron spectroscopy as a powerful, momentum-resolved probe of their magnetic character.

Source: Physical Review Letters

DOI: 10.1103/pq5m-32wj