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Updated: Jul 10, 2025
Spectral and Angle-Resolved Magneto-Optical Characterization of Photonic Nanostructures
Published on: November 21, 2019
Dynamical Multiferroicity and Magnetic Topological Structures Induced by the Orbital Angular Momentum of Light in a
Lingyuan Gao1, Sergei Prokhorenko1, Yousra Nahas1
1Physics Department and Institute for Nanoscience and Engineering, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas 72701, USA.
Abstract:
Recent studies have revealed that chiral phonons resonantly excited by ultrafast laser pulses carry magnetic moments and can enhance the magnetization of materials. In this work, using first-principles-based simulations, we present a real-space scenario where circular motions of electric dipoles in ultrathin two-dimensional ferroelectric and nonmagnetic films are driven by orbital angular momentum of light via strong coupling between electric dipoles and optical field. Rotations of these dipoles follow the evolving pattern of the optical field and create strong on-site orbital magnetic moments of ions. By characterizing topology of orbital magnetic moments in each 2D layer, we identify the vortex type of topological texture-magnetic merons with a one-half topological charge and robust stability. Our study thus provides alternative approaches for generating magnetic fields and topological textures from light-matter interaction and dynamical multiferroicity in nonmagnetic materials.
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