Nonreciprocal superposition state in antiferromagnetic optospintronics

Abstract

The absence of net magnetization, which forbids any stray magnetic fields, is one of the greatest advantages of antiferromagnets in device applications. In conventional antiferromagnets, however, spin current cannot be extracted without the aid of a static magnetic field. Here, we develop a theory of antiferromagnetic opto-spintronics to resolve this fundamental dilemma. By coupling a linearly polarized photon and nonreciprocal magnon bands, we construct a superposition state of left- and right-handed magnon states with opposite group velocities. We numerically demonstrate that by using this superposition state, an antiferromagnetic spin current can be efficiently generated without a net magnetic field including net magnetization. We also find that the breakdown of the superposition state induces the stripe superfluid phase of a two-component Bose-Einstein condensate. Our results lay the foundation for manipulating the superposition states of emergent particles in devices.