Bose-Einstein Condensation Of Magnons Research Articles

Controlling stability of Bose-Einstein condensation of interacting magnons in an antiferromagnet by an external magnetic field

We propose a mechanism for destabilizing or stabilizing Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) of interacting magnons in an antiferromagnet. We study how the interaction between magnons affects the magnon BEC in a two-sublattice antiferromagnet without and with an external magnetic field. We show that in the absence of the magnetic field the magnon BEC is destabilized by the attractive interband interaction, which is larger than the repulsive intraband interaction. We also show that in the presence of the magnetic field the magnon BEC is stabilized only if the magnetic field is large enough to make the intraband interaction larger than the interband interaction. Our results provide the first step for understanding the interaction effects on the magnon BEC in antiferromagnets and may open interaction physics of multicomponent BEC of magnons in magnets.

Nonresonant Excitation of a Magnon Bose–Einstein Condensate in MnCO3

Coupled nuclear–electron precession in MnCO3 under nonresonant excitation is studied. The experimental results clearly confirm the formation of a magnon Bose–Einstein condensate. The empirical relations describing the formation of such condensate are found.

Stabilizing Mechanism for Bose-Einstein Condensation of Interacting Magnons in Ferrimagnets and Ferromagnets.

We propose a stabilizing mechanism for the Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) of interacting magnons in ferrimagnets and ferromagnets. By studying the effects of the magnon-magnon interaction on the stability of the magnon BEC in a ferrimagnet and two ferromagnets, we show that the magnon BEC remains stable even in the presence of the magnon-magnon interaction in the ferrimagnet and ferromagnet with a sublattice structure, while it becomes unstable in the ferromagnet without a sublattice structure. This indicates that the existence of a sublattice structure is the key to stabilizing the BEC of interacting magnons, and the difference between the spin alignments of a ferrimagnet and a ferromagnet is irrelevant. Our result can resolve a contradiction between experiment and theory in the magnon BEC of yttrium iron garnet. Our theoretical framework may provide a starting point for understanding the physics of the magnon BEC including the interaction effects.

On coherent states and the Self-Consistent Harmonic Approximation

Abstract We used the Self-Consistent Harmonic Approximation (SCHA) to study the thermodynamics of the precession magnetization in a two-dimensional isotropic ferromagnet. The SCHA treats the Hamiltonian in terms of the canonically conjugate operators S z and φ (the azimuth angle) including renormalized temperature dependent parameters to take into account higher order interactions. It is well-known that in right conditions, a dynamic magnetic field is able to provide spin pumping and drives the system to a magnon Bose-Einstein condensation. The magnon condensate is a coherent state that presents minimal uncertainty for the S z and φ operators. Consequently, 〈 S z 〉 and 〈 φ 〉 should constitute natural fields to describe the model, which justifies the SCHA formalism. The results obtained are consistent with other theoretical and experimental works.

Anomalous softening of magnon modes in the reentrant state in Cr70Fe30 thin films

In the reentrant (RE) state at low temperatures, the functional dependence of magnetization on temperature at fixed magnetic fields, MH(T), in the Cr70Fe30 thin films deviates considerably from the well-known Bloch T3/2 power law, predicted by the spin-wave (SW) theory for a conventional three-dimensional (3D) ferromagnet. Strong departures from the SW predictions are shown to be a manifestation of an anomalous softening of magnon modes in the RE regime. The model that invokes the Bose–Einstein condensation (BEC) of magnons provides a satisfactory explanation for this unusual behavior. The magnon BEC transition temperature, Tc(H), the volume, V(H), over which the condensate wavefunction retains its phase coherence, the chemical potential, μ(T,H), and the average number of magnon condensates in the ground state, 〈n0(T,H)〉, are accurately determined from MH(T) using a self-consistent approach. Reduction in the film thickness from 978 nm to 21 nm enhances the BEC transition temperature at zero field, Tc(H = 0), from 0.1 K to 0.33 K but drastically reduces the phase coherence length of the BE condensate wavefunction and the spin-wave stiffness at T = 0 and H = 0. The variation of Tc with magnetic field has the form that is characteristic of the magnon BEC in a 3D spin system. Regardless of the film thickness, the BE condensate fraction at H = 0, 〈n0(H=0)〉, turns out to be zero at T≃2 K ≫Tc(H=0), as expected. The ‘zero-field’ quantities M0(H=0),D0(H=0),V(H=0) and Tc(H=0) are found to vary with the film thickness as M0(H=0)∼t3/4,D0(H=0)∼t-3/4,V(H=0)∼t2/5 and Tc(H=0)∼t-1/3. These power laws assert that the film thickness is the fundamental length scale so far as the magnon BEC phenomenon in the Cr70Fe30 thin films is concerned.

Bose-Einstein Condensation of Magnons and Spin Superfluidity in the Polar Phase of ^{3}He.

The polar phase of ^{3}He, which is topological spin-triplet superfluid with the Dirac nodal line in the spectrum of Bogoliubov quasiparticles, has been recently stabilized in a nanoconfined geometry. We pump magnetic excitations (magnons) into the sample of polar phase and observe how they form a Bose-Einstein condensate, revealed by coherent precession of the magnetization of the sample. Spin superfluidity, which supports this coherence, is associated with the spontaneous breaking of U(1) symmetry by the phase of precession. We observe the corresponding Nambu-Goldstone boson and measure its mass emerging when applied rf field violates the U(1) symmetry explicitly. We suggest that the magnon BEC in the polar phase is a powerful probe for topological objects such as vortices and solitons and topological nodes in the fermionic spectrum.

Thermodynamic entanglement of magnonic condensates

Over the last decade, significant progresses have been achieved to create Bose-Einstein condensates (BEC) of magnetic excitations, i.e., magnons, at the room temperature, which is a novel quantum many-body system with a strong spin-spin correlation, and contains potential applications in magnonic spintronics. For quantum information science, the magnonic condensates can become an attractive source of quantum entanglement, which plays a central role in most of the quantum information processing tasks. Here we theoretically study the entanglement properties of a magnon gas above and below the condensation temperature. We show that the thermodynamic entanglement of the magnons is a manifestation of the off-diagonal long-range order; the entanglement of the condensate does not vanish, even if the spins are separated by an infinitely large distance, which is fundamentally distinct from the normal magnetic ordering below the Curie temperature. In addition, the phase transition point occurs when the derivative of the entanglement changes abruptly. Furthermore, the spin-spin entanglement can be experimentally accessed with the current technology. These results provide a theoretical foundation for a future experimental investigation of the magnon BEC in terms of quantum entanglement.

Nonlinear NMR and magnon BEC in antiferromagnetic materials with coupled electron and nuclear spin precession

We present a new study of nonlinear NMR and Bose-Einstein Condensation (BEC) of nuclear spin waves in antiferromagnetic MnCO3 with coupled electron and nuclear spins. In particular, we show that the observed behaviour of NMR signals strongly contradicts the conventional description of paramagnetic ensembles of noninteracting spins based on the phenomenological Bloch equations. We present a new theoretical description of the coupled electron-nuclear spin precession, which takes into account an indirect relaxation of nuclear spins via the electron subsystem. We show that the magnitude of the nuclear magnetization is conserved for arbitrary large excitation powers, which is drastically different from the conventional heating scenario derived from the Bloch equations. This provides strong evidence that the coherent precession of macroscopic nuclear magnetization observed experimentally can be identified with BEC of nuclear spin waves with k=0.

Universality of magnetic-field-induced Bose-Einstein condensation of magnons

CsFeBr$_3$ is an $S\,{=}\,1$ hexagonal antiferromagnet that has a singlet ground state owing to its large easy-plane single-ion anisotropy. The critical behavior of the magnetic-field-induced phase transition for a magnetic field parallel to the $c$ axis, which can be described by the Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) of magnons under the $U(1)$ symmetry, was investigated via magnetization and specific heat measurements down to 0.1$\,$K. For the specific heat measurement, we have developed a method of effectively suppressing the torque acting on a sample with strong anisotropy that uses the spin dimer compound Ba$_2$CoSi$_2$O$_6$Cl$_2$ with large and anisotropic Van Vleck paramagnetism. The temperature dependence of the transition field $H_{\rm c}(T)$ was found to follow the power-law $H_{\rm c}(T)\,{-}\,H_{\rm c}\,{\propto}\,T^{\phi}$ with a critical exponent of ${\phi}\,{=}\,1.50\,{\pm}\,0.02$ and critical field of $H_{\rm c}\,{=}\,2.60$ T. This result verifies the universality of the three-dimensional BEC of magnons described by ${\phi}_{\rm BEC}\,{=}\,3/2$.

Dynamical theory of photon superradiative emission by nanoscale system of Bose-condensed magnons

We have shown the possibility of non-Dicke superradiance for non-ideal magnon Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) in a broadband frequency bath. Here, it is found that all the stored energy in the system of Bose-condensed magnons can be irradiated into a short pulse with a time delay caused by the strong frequency modulation of magnons due to direct inter-particle interactions in the Bose-condensed state. The last mechanism radically distinguishes this effect from the well-known Dicke superradiance of two-level atomic ensemble where the delay is connected with enhancement of the inter-atomic correlations due to exchange by virtual photons. In our case, the superradiance is the consequence of Bose-condensation in the coherent state where the particles are coupled by direct interaction. We have discussed the conditions for observation of this effect for Bose-condensed magnons in a solid-state sample with a spatial size smaller comparing with the wavelength of the emitted field. In general, we had shown that this kind of superradiance can proceed in samples with ferromagnetic type interaction. As for the antiferromagnetic ones, the effect of magnon superradiance takes place without delay.

Magnon-magnon interactions in a room-temperature magnonic Bose-Einstein condensate

The Bose-Einstein condensate of magnons (mBEC) that is formed at room temperature in parametrically pumped magnetic films is doubly degenerate: it is formed simultaneously in two spectral minima corresponding to the lowest-energy magnons propagating in opposite directions along the in-plane bias magnetic field. In this work the interactions of magnons in the mBEC are studied both theoretically and experimentally. It is shown by direct calculation that the magnons residing in each of the degenerate spectral minima of mBEC form a practically ideal magnon gas, as the attractive self-interaction between these magnons is very weak. At the same time, the interaction between the magnons residing in different spectral minima, corresponding to opposite directions of the magnon wave vector, is relatively strong and repulsive, leading to a repulsive total intermagnon interaction. By measuring the spectral characteristics of the mBEC it is shown that with increased magnon density the energy per magnon in the mBECs increases, thus confirming experimentally that the net intermagnon interaction in a doubly degenerate mBEC is repulsive.

The magnon BEC observation by switch off method

The Bose–Einstein condensation (BEC) corresponds to the formation of a collective quantum state in which macroscopic number of particles is governed by a single wave function. The magnon BEC forms by excited non-equilibrium magnons and manifests itself by coherent precession of magnetization even in an inhomogeneous magnetic field. The magnon BEC is very similar to an atomic BEC, but the potential of the interaction between magnons may variate very significantly. The superfluid phases of 3He are the best antiferromagnetic system for investigations of magnon BEC and spin superfluidity. The 6 different states of magon BEC were observed in 3He. Recently magnon BEC was observed in antiferromagnets with Suhl–Nakamura interaction and ferrites. Here we review for the first time the switch off NMR method, when magnon BEC forms during a long radiofrequency pulse. The new experimental results are discussed.

Effective Minkowski-to-Euclidean signature change of the magnon BEC pseudo-Goldstone mode in polar 3He

We discuss the effective metric experienced by the Nambu-Goldstone mode propagating in the broken symmetry spin-superfluid state of coherent precession of magnetization. This collective mode represents the phonon in the RF driven or pulsed out-of-equilibrium Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) of optical magnons. We derive the effective BEC free energy and consider the phonon spectrum when the spin superfluid BEC is formed in the anisotropic polar phase of superfluid 3He, experimentally observed in uniaxial aerogel 3He-samples. The coherent precession of magnetization experiences an instability at a critical value of the tilting angle of external magnetic field with respect to the anisotropy axis. From the action of quadratic deviations around equilibrium, this instability is interpreted as a Minkowski-to-Euclidean signature change of the effective phonon metric. We also note the similarity between the magnon BEC in the unstable region and an effective vacuum scalar "ghost" condensate.

Tunneling between chiral magnets: Spin current generation without external fields

Magnons can generate a spin current, and the standard generating mechanism requires at least one external field. Since this mechanism is often applied to a multilayer system including a magnet and a paramagnetic metal, the system can possess not only the charge current induced by the spin current but also the charge current induced by the external field. The latter is an unnecessary accompaniment. Here we show that the tunneling of a magnon pair between chiral magnets can generate a spin current even without external fields. This phenomenon originates from a phase difference between magnon pairs of separate, weakly coupled chiral magnets, and is essentially different from the mechanism using the angle degree of freedom of the magnon Bose-Einstein condensates. The pair's tunneling is possible in chiral magnets due to lack of the Goldstone-type gapless excitations. This phenomenon opens the door to spintronics not requiring any external field and using the magnon pair tunneling.

Magnetoelectric effect in the quantum spin gap system TlCuCl3

Quantum magnets, which involve strong quantum fluctuation stemming from noncommutative properties of spin operators, have attracted much attention because of those fascinating properties. In this paper, we report detailed behaviors of the ferroelectricity, driven by the field-induced Bose-Einstein condensation of magnon quasiparticles in the quantum spin gap system ${\mathrm{TlCuCl}}_{3}$. Superposition of the wave functions inherent in a quantum magnet in its ground state plays a key role in the appearance of this ferroelectricity. The field dependence of the spontaneous electric polarization clearly demonstrates that the ferroelectricity is caused by the emergence of the vector spin chirality in the magnon Bose-Einstein condensate. The ferroelectricity is suggested to be significantly enhanced by quantum entanglement in the spin dimer. Furthermore, reflecting the isotropic nature of ${\mathrm{TlCuCl}}_{3}$, the ferroelectricity is very soft with a low electric coercive field ${E}_{\mathrm{r}}\ensuremath{\simeq}0.03$ MV/m. Our analysis indicates that vector components of the electric polarization, which are not caused by the spin current mechanism, appear in ${\mathrm{TlCuCl}}_{3}$.

Magnon Accumulation by Clocked Laser Excitation as Source of Long-Range Spin Waves in Transparent Magnetic Films

Optical tools are of great promise for generation of spin waves due to the possibility to manipulate on ultrashort time scales and to provide local excitation. However, a single laser pulse can inject spin waves only with a broad frequency spectrum, resulting in a short propagation distance and low amplitude. Here we excite a magnetic garnet film by a train of fs-laser pulses with 1 GHz repetition rate so that pulse separation is smaller than decay time of the magnetic modes which allows to achieve collective photonic impact on magnetization. It establishes a quasi-stationary source of SWs, namely a coherent magnon accumulation ("magnon cloud"). This approach has several appealing features: (i) the source is tunable; (ii) the SW amplitude can be significantly enhanced; (iii) the spectrum of the generated SWs is quite narrow that provides longer propagation distance; (iv) the periodic pumping results in almost constant in time SW amplitude up to 100 um away from the source; and (v) the SW emission shows a pronounced directionality. These results expand the capabilities of ultrafast coherent optical control of magnetization and pave a way for applications in data processing, including the quantum regime. The quasi-stationary magnon accumulation might be also of interest for the problem of magnon Bose-Einstein condensate.

Electrically driven Bose-Einstein condensation of magnons in antiferromagnets

We explore routes to realize electrically driven Bose-Einstein condensation of magnons in insulating antiferromagnets. Even in insulating antiferromagnets, the localized spins can strongly couple to itinerant spins in adjacent metals via spin-transfer torque and spin pumping. We describe the formation of steady-state magnon condensates controlled by a spin accumulation polarized along the staggered field in an adjacent normal metal. Two types of magnons exist in antiferromagnets, which carry opposite magnetic moments. Consequently, and in contrast to ferromagnets, Bose-Einstein condensation can occur for either sign of the spin accumulation. This condensation may occur even at room temperature when the interaction with the normal metal is fast compared to the relaxation processes within the antiferromagnet. In antiferromagnets, the operating frequencies of the condensate are orders of magnitude faster than in ferromagnets.

Ginzburg-Landau-type theory of nonpolarized spin superconductivity

Since the concept of spin superconductor was proposed, all the related studies concentrate on spin-polarized case. Here, we generalize the study to spin-non-polarized case. The free energy of non-polarized spin superconductor is obtained, and the Ginzburg-Landau-type equations are derived by using the variational method. These Ginzburg-Landau-type equations can be reduced to the spin-polarized case when the spin direction is fixed. Moreover, the expressions of super linear and angular spin currents inside the superconductor are derived. We demonstrate that the electric field induced by super spin current is equal to the one induced by equivalent charge obtained from the second Ginzburg-Landau-type equation, which shows self-consistency of our theory. By applying these Ginzburg-Landau-type equations, the effect of electric field on the superconductor is also studied. These results will help us get a better understanding of the spin superconductor and the related topics such as Bose-Einstein condensate of magnons and spin superfluidity.

Ferroelectricity by Bose-Einstein condensation in a quantum magnet.

The Bose–Einstein condensation is a fascinating phenomenon, which results from quantum statistics for identical particles with an integer spin. Surprising properties, such as superfluidity, vortex quantization or Josephson effect, appear owing to the macroscopic quantum coherence, which spontaneously develops in Bose–Einstein condensates. Realization of Bose–Einstein condensation is not restricted in fluids like liquid helium, a superconducting phase of paired electrons in a metal and laser-cooled dilute alkali atoms. Bosonic quasi-particles like exciton-polariton and magnon in solids-state systems can also undergo Bose–Einstein condensation in certain conditions. Here, we report that the quantum coherence in Bose–Einstein condensate of the magnon quasi particles yields spontaneous electric polarization in the quantum magnet TlCuCl3, leading to remarkable magnetoelectric effect. Very soft ferroelectricity is realized as a consequence of the O(2) symmetry breaking by magnon Bose–Einstein condensation. The finding of this ferroelectricity will open a new window to explore multi-functionality of quantum magnets.

Low-temperature heat transport of spin-gapped quantum magnets

This article reviews low-temperature heat transport studies of spin-gapped quantum magnets in the last few decades. Quantum magnets with small spins and low dimensionality exhibit a variety of novel phenomena. Among them, some systems are char-acteristic of having quantum-mechanism spin gap in their magnetic excitation spectra, including spin-Peierls systems, S = 1 Haldane chains, S = 1/2 spin ladders, and spin dimmers. In some particular spin-gapped systems, the XY-type antiferromagnetic state induced by magnetic field that closes the spin gap can be described as a magnon Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC). Heat transport is effective in probing the magnetic excitations and magnetic phase transitions, and has been extensively studied for the spin-gapped systems. A large and ballistic spin thermal conductivity was observed in the two-leg Heisenberg S = 1/2 ladder compounds. The characteristic of magnetic thermal transport of the Haldane chain systems is quite controversial on both the theoretical and experimental results. For the spin-Peierls system, the spin excitations can also act as heat carriers. In spin-dimer compounds, the magnetic excitations mainly play a role of scattering phonons. The magnetic excitations in the magnon BEC systems displayed dual roles, carrying heat or scattering phonons, in different materials.