Observation of nuclear-spin Seebeck effect

Abstract

Thermoelectric effects have been applied to power generators and temperature sensors that convert waste heat into electricity. The effects, however, have been limited to electrons to occur, and inevitably disappear at low temperatures due to electronic entropy quenching. Here, we report thermoelectric generation caused by nuclear spins in a solid: nuclear-spin Seebeck effect. The sample is a magnetically ordered material MnCO${}_3$ having a large nuclear spin ($I=5/2$) of ${}^{55}$Mn nuclei and strong hyperfine coupling, with a Pt contact. In the system, we observe low-temperature thermoelectric signals down to 100 mK due to nuclear-spin excitation. Our theoretical calculation in which interfacial Korringa process is taken into consideration quantitatively reproduces the results. The nuclear thermoelectric effect demonstrated here offers a way for exploring thermoelectric science and technologies at ultralow temperatures.

This is a post-peer-review, pre-copyedit version of an article published in Nature Communications. The final authenticated version is available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-24623-6

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Cited by in corpus (12)

• Spin and spin current -- From fundamentals to recent progress
• Spin Seebeck Effect: Sensitive Probe for Elementary Excitation, Spin Correlation, Transport, Magnetic Order, and Domains in Solids
• Mechanism of paramagnetic spin Seebeck effect
• Composition-tunable magnon-polaron anomalies in spin Seebeck effects in epitaxial Bi${}_x$Y${}_{3-x}$Fe${}_5$O${}_{12}$ films
• Dark matter detection using nuclear magnetization in magnet with hyperfine interaction
• Thermal spin current generation in the multifunctional ferrimagnet Ga${}_{0.6}$Fe${}_{1.4}$O${}_3$
• Antiferromagnetic spin pumping via hyperfine interaction
• Modulation of Spin Seebeck Effect by Hydrogenation
• Cryogenic spin Peltier effect detected by a RuO${}_2$-AlO${}_x$ on-chip microthermometer
• Spin-orbit torque on nuclear spins exerted by a spin accumulation via hyperfine interactions
• Spin caloritronics: History and future prospects of experiments
• Field Dispersion and Strong Coupling of Nuclear-Electron Spin Excitation in MnCO${}_3$