From Elastic Spin to Phonon Spin: Symmetry and Fundamental Relations

TL;DR

This paper revisits elastic and phonon spin concepts using symmetry principles and second quantization, revealing their general properties and relations to energy flux, with implications for spin phononics and quantum sensing.

Contribution

It generalizes elastic and phonon spin definitions to anisotropic systems and various phonon modes, linking them to energy flux and polarization dynamics.

Findings

Elastic spin relates to energy flux vorticity in specific cases.

Phonon spin applies to all phonon modes, including longitudinal and hybrid modes.

Elastic and phonon spins originate from local polarization rotation, not vorticity.

Abstract

This work is mainly based on postgraduate lectures at Tongji University since 2020 spring. We firstly revisit the elastic spin and orbital angular momentum [Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 115, 9951 (2018)] but more general for anisotropic systems by applying Noether's theorem to the elastic Lagrangian and by applying the symmetry argument in the field theory. Then, fundamental relations between elastic energy flux and elastic spin are uncovered. In particular cases, the wave spin is closely related to the vorticity of energy flux and momentum. Secondly, we move forward from the elastic spin to revisit the phonon spin [Fizika Tverdogo Tela 3, 2160 (1961)] by applying the second quantization to elastic fields. We show that the uncovered phonon spin, a polarized elastic-vibration quanta, is generally not restricted to transverse phonon modes, but applying to general phonon modes, such as the longitudinal phonon modes, surface phonon modes, and hybridized phonon modes, regarded as a consequence of mode interferences. The elastic spin and phonon spin originate from the local rotating of the field polarization in time domain, not the local circulation (vorticity) of displacement or velocity in space domain. It is hopeful that the present results could advance the fundamental understanding of phonon spin and elastic spin, and promote the spin phononics for hybrid quantum sensing and technology with multiple degrees of freedom.