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Magnon squeezing in the quantum regime
Yuan-Chao Weng1, Da Xu2, Zhen Chen3
1Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Micro-Nano Quantum Chips and Quantum Control, School of Physics, and State Key Laboratory for Extreme Photonics and Instrumentation, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
Nature Communications
|February 12, 2026
Summary
Researchers experimentally observed quantum squeezing of magnons in a macroscopic yttrium iron garnet sphere. This breakthrough in quantum nonlinear magnonics paves the way for advanced quantum technologies and metrology.
Area of Science:
- Quantum physics
- Condensed matter physics
- Quantum optics
Background:
- Squeezed states are vital for quantum metrology and quantum technologies.
- Demonstrating quantum squeezing in macroscopic spin systems, specifically magnons, has been a significant challenge.
Purpose of the Study:
- To experimentally observe quantum-level magnon squeezing in a millimeter-scale yttrium iron garnet (YIG) sphere.
- To generate squeezed magnon states with a mean magnon number less than one.
Main Methods:
- Engineered a strong dispersive magnon-superconducting qubit coupling using a microwave cavity.
- Implemented a self-Kerr nonlinearity to generate squeezed magnon states.
- Utilized a magnon-assisted Raman process for Wigner tomography.
Main Results:
- Achieved experimental observation of quantum magnon squeezing in a YIG sphere.
- Generated squeezed magnon states with quadrature variances of approximately 0.8 (~1.0 dB squeezing) below the vacuum level.
- Demonstrated mean magnon numbers less than one.
Conclusions:
- Laid the groundwork for quantum nonlinear magnonics.
- Showcased potential applications in quantum metrology.
- Opened new avenues for exploring quantum phenomena in macroscopic spin systems.
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