The Doppler shift of the quasiparticle dispersion by charge currents is responsible for the critical supercurrents in superconductors and instabilities of the magnetic ground state of metallic ferromagnets. Here we predict an analogous effect in thin films of magnetic insulators in which microwaves emitted by a proximity stripline generate coherent chiral spin currents that cause a Doppler shift in the magnon dispersion. The spin-wave instability is suppressed by magnon-magnon interactions that limit spin currents to values close to but below the threshold for the instability. The spin current limitations by the backaction of magnon currents on the magnetic order should be considered as design parameters in magnonic devices.
Quantized spin waves, or magnons, in a magnetic insulator are assumed to interact weakly with the surroundings, and to flow with little dissipation or drag, producing exceptionally long diffusion lengths and relaxation times. In analogy to Coulomb drag in bilayer two dimensional electron gases, in which the contribution of the Coulomb interaction to the electric resistivity is studied by measuring the interlayer resistivity (transresistivity), we predict a nonlocal drag of magnons in a ferromagnetic bilayer structure based on semiclassical Boltzmann equations. Nonlocal magnon drag depends on m…
Magnon drag effect induced by an applied electric field in ferromagnetic metals is theoretically studied by a microscopic calculation of the force on magnons arising from magnon emission/absorption and scattering due to driven electrons. It is shown that magnon scattering contribution dominates over the emission/absorption one in a wide temperature regime in good metals with long elastic lifetime $\taue$, as the latter has a relative suppression factor of $(\Deltasd\taue)^{-2}$ due to the electron spin flip by the magnon, where $\Deltasd$ is the $sd$ exchange interaction energy. Spin-transfer …
A temperature gradient applied to a ferromagnetic metal induces not only independent flows of electrons and magnons but also drag currents because of their mutual interaction. In this paper, we present a microscopic study of the electron flow induced by the drag due to magnons. The analysis is based on the $s$-$d$ model, which describes conduction electrons and magnons coupled via the $s$-$d$ exchange interaction. Magnetic impurities are introduced in the electron subsystem as a source of spin relaxation. The obtained magnon-drag electron current is proportional to the entropy of magnons and t…
Metallic ferromagnets subjected to a temperature gradient exhibit a magnonic drag of the electric current. We address this problem by solving a stochastic Landau-Lifshitz equation to calculate the magnon-drag thermopower. The long-wavelength magnetic dynamics result in two contributions to the electromotive force acting on electrons: (1) An adiabatic Berry-phase force related to the solid angle subtended by the magnetic precession and (2) a dissipative correction thereof, which is rooted microscopically in the spin-dephasing scattering. The first contribution results in a net force pushing the…
We study a bilayer structure consisting of an antiferromagnetic insulator and a normal metal. An electron current is driven in the normal metal with direction parallel to the interface between the materials. Due to interfacial exchange coupling between the localized spins in the antiferromagnet and the itinerant electrons in the normal metal, a magnon current can then be induced in the antiferromagnet. Using an uncompensated antiferromagnetic interface, creating an asymmetry in the interfacial coupling to the two degenerate magnon modes, we find that it is possible to generate a magnon spin-cu…
We study transport phenomena cross-correlated among the heat and electric currents of magnons and Dirac electrons on the surface of ferromagnetic topological insulators. For a perpendicular magnetization, we calculate magnon- (electron-) drag anomalous Nernst/Seebeck (anomalous Ettingshausen/Peltier) effects and magnon-/electron-drag thermal Hall effects. The magnon-drag thermoelectric effects are interpreted to be caused by magnon-induced electromotive force. When the magnetization has in-plane components, there arise thermal/thermoelectric analogs of anisotropic magnetoresistance (AMR). In t…
We point out a relation between the dissipative spin-transfer-torque parameter $β$ and the contribution of magnon drag to the thermoelectric power in conducting ferromagnets. Using this result we estimate $β$ in iron at low temperatures, where magnon drag is believed to be the dominant contribution to the thermopower. Our results may be used to determine $β$ from magnon-drag-thermopower experiments, or, conversely, to infer the strength of magnon drag via experiments on spin transfer.
A noncollinear magnet consists of the magnetic moments forming a noncollinear spin structure. Because of this structure, the Hamiltonian of magnons acquires the cubic terms. Although the cubic terms are the magnon-magnon interactions characteristic of noncollinear magnets, their effects on magnon transport have not been clarified yet. Here we show that in a canted antiferromagnet the cubic terms cause a magnon drag that magnons drag magnon spin current and heat current, which can be used to enhance these currents by tuning a magnetic field. For a strong magnetic field, we find that the cubic t…
We propose a new drag phenomenon, an interband magnon drag, and report on interaction effects and multiband effects in magnon transport of ferrimagnetic insulators. We study a spin-Seebeck coefficient $S_{\textrm{m}}$, a magnon conductivity $σ_{\textrm{m}}$, and a magnon thermal conductivity $κ_{\textrm{m}}$ of interacting magnons for a minimal model of ferrimagnetic insulators using a $1/S$ expansion of the Holstein-Primakoff method, the linear-response theory, and a method of Green's functions. We show that the interband magnon drag enhances $σ_{\textrm{m}}$ and reduces $κ_{\textrm{m}}$, whe…
We consider electron drag in a system of two ferromagnetic layers separated by an insulating interface. The source of it is expected to be magnon-electron interactions. Namely, we assume that the external voltage is applied to the "active" layer stimulating electric current through this layer. In its turn, the scattering of the current-carrying electrons by magnons leads to a magnon drag current within this layer. The 3-magnons interactions between magnons in the two layers (being of non-local nature) lead to magnon drag within the "passive" layer which, correspondingly, produce electron drag …
In a semiconductor hererostructure, the Coulomb interaction is responsible for the electric current drag between two 2D electron gases across an electron impenetrable insulator. For two metallic layers separated by a ferromagnetic insulator (FI) layer, the electric current drag can be mediated by a nonequilibrium magnon current of the FI. We determine the drag current by using the semiclassical Boltzmann approach with proper boundary conditions of electrons and magnons at the metal-FI interface.
A theoretical study of the magnon-drag Peltier and Seebeck effects in ferromagnetic metals is presented. A magnon heat current is described perturbatively from the microscopic viewpoint with respect to electron--magnon interactions and the electric field. Then, the magnon-drag Peltier coefficient $Π_\MAG$ is obtained as the ratio between the magnon heat current and the electric charge current. We show that $Π_\MAG=C_\MAG T^{5/2}$ at a low temperature $T$; that the coefficient $C_\MAG$ is proportional to the spin polarization $P$ of the electric conductivity; and that $P>0$ for $C_\MAG<0$, but …
Thermoelectric effects in spintronics are gathering increasing attention as a means of managing heat in nanoscale structures and of controlling spin information by using heat flow. Thermal magnons (spin-wave quanta) are expected to play a major role, however, little is known about the underlying physical mechanisms involved. The reason is the lack of information about magnon interactions and of reliable methods to obtain it, in particular for electrical conductors because of the intricate influence of electrons. Here, we demonstrate a conceptually new device that allows us to gather informatio…
Resistivity $ρ$, thermopower ${\cal S}$, and thermal conductivity $κ$ were measured simultaneously on a set of CoFe alloy films. Variation of the Co-content $x_\mathrm{Co}$ allows for a systematic tuning of the Fermi level through the band structure, and the study of the interplay between electronic and magnetic contributions to the transport coefficients. While band structure and magnon effects in $ρ$ and $κ$ are rather weak, they turn out to be very significant in ${\cal S}$. The evolution of Mott and magnon drag contributions to ${\cal S}$ is traced between the two limiting cases of pure Fe…
Pure spin current, a flow of spin angular momentum without flow of any companying net charge, is generated in two common ways. One makes use of the spin Hall effect in normal metals (NM) with strong spin-orbit coupling, such as Pt or Ta. The other utilizes the collective motion of magnetic moments or spin waves with the quasi-particle excitations called magnons. A popular material for the latter is yttrium iron garnet, a magnetic insulator (MI). Here we demonstrate in NM/MI/NM trilayers that these two types of spin currents are interconvertible across the interfaces, predicated as the magnon-m…
In this work, we numerically study the Fizeau-Doppler shift of surface modes in a moving plasmonic metamaterial. At proper surface plasmon resonance conditions, a slow group velocity is resulted in the metamaterials, and our simulation indicates a phase shift up to 4 orders of magnitude larger than the normal mode. In addition, both appreciable positive and negative photon drag could be observed. We also found an abrupt transition in the sign of phase shift when silver film reaches a critical thickness. This opens new opportunities in applications such as compact optical gyroscopes and acceler…
We propose inducing Bose-Einstein condensation of magnons in a magnetic insulator by a heat flow oriented toward its boundary. At a critical heat flux, the oversaturated thermal gas of magnons accumulated at the boundary precipitates the condensate, which then grows gradually as the thermal bias is dialed up further. The thermal magnons thus pumped by the magnonic bulk (spin) Seebeck effect must generally overcome both the local Gilbert damping associated with the coherent magnetic dynamics as well as the radiative spin-wave losses toward the magnetic bulk, in order to achieve the threshold of…
Magnetic skyrmions are topologically protected excitations of the magnetization vector field with promising applications in spintronics and spin-caloritronics, particularly due to their high mobility. Skyrmions can be steered by a spin-polarized charge current or by exposure to a magnonic spin current. Here, we propose a further method for driving skyrmions by applying an inhomogeneous electric field and a homogeneous thermal bias. We show that the inhomogeneous electric torque leads to an efficient skyrmionic drag which can be thermally assisted as to enhance the skyrmion velocity. The calcul…
We study the spin-transfer drag mediated by the Brownian motion of skyrmions. The essential idea is illustrated in a two-terminal geometry, in which a thin film of a magnetic insulator is placed in between two metallic reservoirs. An electric current in one of the terminals pumps topological charge into the magnet via a spin-transfer torque. The charge diffuses over the bulk of the system as stable skyrmion textures. By Onsager's reciprocity, the topological charge leaving the magnet produces an electromotive force in the second terminal. The voltage signal decays algebraically with the separa…
The exchange interaction between the conduction electrons and magnetic moments at magnetic interface leads to mutual conversion between electron spin current and magnon current. We introduce a concept of spin convertance which quantitatively measures the magnon current induced by electron spin accumulation and the spin current created by magnon accumulation at the interface. We predict the phenomena on charge and spin drag across a magnetic insulator spacer for several layered structures.
Here, we investigate the nonreciprocal propagation and amplification of surface plasmons in drift-current biased graphene, using both Galilean and relativistic-type Doppler shift transformations of the graphene's conductivity. Consistent with previous studies, both conductivity models predict strongly nonreciprocal propagation of surface plasmons due to the drag effect caused by the drifting electrons. In particular, the Galilean Doppler shift model leads to stronger spectral asymmetries in the plasmon dispersion with regimes of unidirectional propagation. Remarkably, it is shown that both con…
This article reviews the principles that govern the combined transport of spin, heat, and charge. The extensive thermodynamic quantity associated with spin transport is the magnetization; its Onsager-conjugate force is in general the derivative of the free energy with respect to the magnetization. Spins are carried in one of two ways: (1) by spin-polarized free electrons in magnetic metals and doped semiconductors, or (2) by spin waves (magnons) that reside on localized electrons on unfilled d- or f-shells of transition metal or rare-earth elements. The paper covers both cases in separate chap…
Exciton transport driven by spin excitations in an antiferromagnet
TUD Dresden University of Technology（德累斯顿工业大学）；Technical University of Munich（慕尼黑工业大学）；Ioffe Institute（约费研究所）；University of Chemistry and Technology Prague（布拉格化工大学）；Rheinland-Pfälzische Technische Universität Kaiserslautern-Landau（莱茵兰-普法尔茨技术大学凯泽斯劳滕-兰道分校）；Universidad Autónoma de Madrid（马德里自治大学）
We theoretically investigate possible effects of electric current on the spin wave dynamics for the Néel-type antiferromagnetic order in a honeycomb lattice. Based on a general vector decomposition of the spin polarization of conduction electrons, we find that there can exist reciprocal and nonreciprocal terms in the current-induced torque acting on the local spins in the system. Furthermore, we show that the reciprocal terms will cause the spin wave Doppler effect, while the nonreciprocal terms can induce rich non-Hermitian topological phenomena in the spin wave dynamics, including exceptiona…
This review focuses on the chirality observed in the excited states of the magnetic order, dielectrics, and conductors that hold transverse spins when they are evanescent. Even without any relativistic effect, the transverse spin of the evanescent waves are locked to the momentum and the surface normal of their propagation plane. This chirality thereby acts as a generalized spin-orbit interaction, which leads to the discovery of various chiral interactions between magnetic, phononic, electronic, photonic, and plasmonic excitations in spintronics that mediate the excitation of quasiparticles in…
We investigate instabilities of the magnetic ground state in ferromagnetic metals that are induced by uniform electrical currents, and, in particular, go beyond previous analyses by including dipolar interactions. These instabilities arise from spin-transfer torques that lead to Doppler shifted spin waves. For sufficiently large electrical currents, spin-wave excitations have negative energy with respect to the uniform magnetic ground state, while remaining dynamically stable due to dissipative spin-transfer torques. Hence, the uniform magnetic ground state is energetically unstable, but is no…
