Topological surface magnon-polariton in an insulating canted antiferromagnet

Abstract

Excitation and control of antiferromagnetic magnon modes lie at the heart of coherent antiferromagnetic spintronics. Here, we propose a topological surface magnon-polariton as a new approach in the prototypical magnonic material hematite. We show that in an insulating canted antiferromagnet, where strong-coupled magnon-photon modes can be achieved using electrical on-chip layouts, a surface magnon-polariton mode exists in the gap of the bulk magnon-photon bands. The emergence of surface magnon-polariton mode is further attributed to the nontrivial topology of bulk magnon-photon bands. Magnon-photon coupling enhances the Berry curvature near the anticrossing points, leading to a topological bulk Chern band associated with the surface magnon-polaritons. Our work provides a general principle for the utilization of optomagnetic properties in antiferromagnets, with an illustration of its experimental feasibility and wide generality as manifested in hematite.

12 pages, 7 figures