Optomagnonic Josephson effect in antiferromagnets

Abstract

Combining advanced technologies of optics and antiferromagnetic spintronics, we present a method to realize ultrafast spin transport. The optical Barnett effect provokes quasiequilibrium Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) of magnons associated with the fully spin-polarized state in insulating antiferromagnets (AFs). This optomagnonic Barnett effect enables us to exploit coherent magnons of high frequency over the conventional ones of (sub-) terahertz associated with the N\'eel magnetic order. We show that the macroscopic coherence of those optical magnon BECs induces a spin current across the junction interface of weakly coupled two insulating AFs, and this optomagnonic Josephson effect realizes ultrafast spin transport. The period of the optomagnonic Josephson oscillation is much shorter than the conventional one of the order of picoseconds. Thus we propose a way to realize ultrafast spin transport in AFs by means of the macroscopic coherence of optical magnon BECs.