Tailoring Phonon Angular Momentum Transport

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Hans Hübl
• Subject Area: Experimental Condensed Matter Physics
• Term: since 2025
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 541503763

This research project focuses on the investigation of the nature of angular momentum and its transport through lattice excitations, i.e. phonons. The angular momentum in lattice excitations can be described as the rotational motion of the atoms around their rest position, which can be generated by a suitable superposition of linear vibrations or is caused by the symmetry of the lattice. The investigation of angular momentum in phonons requires the ability to excite phonons in a controlled manner with a defined sense of rotation or circular polarization. For this purpose, we will use magnetic excitations with their precession chirality given by the sign of the gyromagnetic ratio by coupling a magnetic system to the phononic system. We plan to study the transfer of angular momentum between the magnetic and lattice excitations, to use this to generate phononic angular momentum and its detection, and thus to study angular momentum transport both in bulk and in phononic micro- and nanostructures with tailored phononic properties.

• DFG Programme: Research Units
• Subproject of: FOR 5844: Chiral phonons for spintronics_ChiPS