Orbital magnetic moments of phonons

Abstract

In ionic materials, circularly polarized phonons carry orbital magnetic moments that arise from circular motions of the ions, and which interact with other magnetic moments or fields. Here, we calculate the orbital magnetic moments of phonons in 35 different materials using density functional theory, and we identify the factors that lead to, and materials that show, large responses. We compute the resulting macroscopic orbital magnetic moments that can be induced by the excitation of coherent phonons using mid-infrared laser pulses, and we evaluate the magnitudes of the phonon Zeeman effect in a strong magnetic field. Finally, we apply our formalism to chiral phonons, in which the motions of the ions are intrinsically circular. The zoology presented here may serve as a guide to finding materials for phonon and spin-phonon driven phenomena.