OpenAlex ·
Photonic magnetism and altermagnetism without magnetic materials
- Published
- Source
- OpenAlex
- Published in
- arXiv (Cornell University)
- DOI
- 10.48550/arxiv.2609.00741
- Original
- Read it at the publisher
- Topics
Abstract
Magnetism, a fundamental property of solids arising from the collective alignment of electronic spins of magnetic atoms, has recently been expanded by the discovery of altermagnetism, a symmetry-driven phase distinct from both ferromagnetism and antiferromagnetism. Initial efforts to emulate altermagnetism in photonic systems are also being pursued, primarily through the magneto-optic response of materials; however, their intrinsic frequency limitations pose challenges for extending photonic altermagnetism into the optical regime, thereby restricting their material choices and optical applications. Here, we establish a microscopic framework of photonic magnetism through group theory symmetry analysis, defining photonic counterparts of electron spin and magnetic atoms. This approach enables the realization of photonic ferromagnetic, antiferromagnetic, and altermagnetic phases within structured optical lattices constructed by purely dielectric, nonmagnetic materials, which not only broadens the photonic magnetism concept, but also lifts the material and frequency limitations. Analytical models, numerical simulations, and experimental measurements reveal spin-momentum locking directly corresponding to their electronic analogs, showing d-, g-, and i-wave circular dichroism (CD) splitting bands at telecom wavelengths (around 1550 nm). These results demonstrate that altermagnetic order, and magnetism more broadly, can be reconstructed in photonic systems through symmetry and mode coupling alone, opening a new route towards spin-dependent light control and bosonic analogs of quantum magnetic phenomena in dielectric photonic crystals.
The authors’ abstract, as arXiv lists it. arXiv’s listings, abstracts included, are free for anyone to reuse.
Read it on ReadSearch
Each opens after you create an account, and brings you back to this paper.
More in Materials Science
A continuous-mode quantum-optical representation of finite strong-field laser pulses in free space
A Hybrid Simulation Code for Hall Thrusters and its Sensitivity to Numerical Parameters
Why Multi-Layer Message Passing Works: Completeness Theory for Graph Neural Network Interatomic Potentials
'pySNOW': a Python Suite for the NanO-World
Design and Physical Constraints of Synthetic-Frequency Photonic Switching Fabrics
Get the few papers worth your time in Materials Science every morning.
ReadSearch reads the new papers in your field each day and brings you the few worth reading, each with its key finding in a sentence.