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Updated: Jan 7, 2026

Excitonic Hamiltonians for Calculating Optical Absorption Spectra and Optoelectronic Properties of Molecular Aggregates and Solids
Published on: May 27, 2020
Exciton transport driven by spin excitations in an antiferromagnet
Florian Dirnberger1,2,3, Sophia Terres4, Zakhar A Iakovlev5
1Institute of Applied Physics and Würzburg-Dresden Cluster of Excellence ct.qmat, TUD Dresden University of Technology, Dresden, Germany. f.dirnberger@tum.de.
Researchers demonstrated exciton transport by spin excitations in CrSBr, a magnetic van der Waals material. This magnon-driven exciton motion offers new possibilities for optics and photonics.
Area of Science:
- Condensed Matter Physics
- Materials Science
- Optics and Photonics
Background:
- Magnetic excitons, optical quasiparticles in magnetic van der Waals materials, interact strongly with spin.
- These interactions offer potential for advanced optical control of energy and information flow.
Purpose of the Study:
- To demonstrate and characterize exciton transport driven by spin excitations in the van der Waals antiferromagnetic semiconductor CrSBr.
- To explore novel exciton transport mechanisms beyond conventional descriptions.
Main Methods:
- Utilized ultrafast optical spectroscopy to probe exciton dynamics in CrSBr.
- Investigated exciton propagation, cloud behavior, and transport properties in single-layer and bilayer samples.
Main Results:
- Observed ultrafast, nearly isotropic exciton propagation, significantly enhanced at the Néel temperature.
- Detected transient contraction/expansion of exciton clouds at low temperatures and superdiffusive transport in bilayers.
- Identified magnon currents induced by laser excitation as the driving force for exciton transport.
Conclusions:
- Exciton transport is effectively driven by magnon currents through drag forces, imprinting spin properties onto exciton motion.
- Magnon-exciton scattering provides a universal mechanism applicable to other magnetic and non-magnetic materials in heterostructures.
- This work merges magnetotransport physics with optics and photonics, opening avenues for novel device applications.
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