An efficient material search for room-temperature topological magnons.

Area of Science:

• Condensed Matter Physics
• Materials Science
• Spintronics

Background:

• Topologically protected magnon surface states are crucial for developing low-dissipation spintronics.
• Predicting topological magnons in correlated materials is difficult with standard ab initio density functional theory methods.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a novel symmetry-based approach for predicting topological magnons.
• To efficiently search for magnetic materials exhibiting topological magnon properties.

Main Methods:

• Developed a symmetry-based theoretical framework to predict topological magnons under external perturbations (magnetic/electric fields, mechanical strains).
• Utilized the Bilbao Crystallographic Server for an efficient materials search.

Main Results:

• Identified 12 magnetic insulators with transition temperatures over 300 K that support room-temperature topological magnons.
• Discovered materials featuring Weyl magnons with surface magnon arcs and magnon axion insulators with chiral surface or hinge magnon modes.

Conclusions:

• The developed approach enables the prediction and discovery of topological magnons in magnetic materials.
• Identified promising candidates for realizing energy-efficient spintronics devices based on protected surface magnons.