Topological hybridisation of plasmons with ferrimagnetic magnons

TL;DR

This paper investigates the hybridization of plasmons and magnons in heterostructures involving Rashba spin-orbit coupled monolayer TMDs and ferrimagnets, revealing topological properties and experimental signatures of the coupled modes.

Contribution

It introduces a combined microscopic-macroscopic framework to analyze plasmon-magnon hybridization and classifies the topology of the resulting modes based on phase winding and spin-momentum locking.

Findings

Strong hybridization of plasmons and magnons over GHz and THz frequencies.

Identification of topological interface modes and anomalous thermal Hall effects.

Hybrid modes are accessible at temperatures above cryogenic levels.

Abstract

We study the formation of hybrid plasmon-magnon modes in a heterostructure comprising a monolayer semiconductor with strong Rashba spin-orbit coupling -- specifically, Janus transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) -- and an insulating ferrimagnet, such as yttrium iron garnet-based compounds. Using a combined microscopic-macroscopic framework for plasmon-magnon coupling, we show that plasmons and magnons strongly hybridize over both GHz and THz frequency ranges, enabling experimental access well above cryogenic temperatures. Moreover, the developed approach provides an efficient and natural classification of the topology of the hybrid modes, rooted in the phase winding of the plasmon-magnon coupling induced by spin-momentum locking and the associated chiral winding of the electronic spin along the Fermi contours. Finally, we identify experimentally accessible manifestations of the hybridization, such as topological interface modes and an anomalous thermal Hall response.