Electrical Activity of Topological Chiral Edge Magnons

Abstract

Topological magnon insulators support chiral edge excitations, whose lack of electric charge makes them notoriously difficult to detect experimentally. We show that relativistic magnetoelectric coupling universally renders chiral edge magnons electrically active, thereby facilitating electrical probes of magnon topology. Considering a two-dimensional out-of-plane magnetized topological magnon insulator, we predict a fluctuation-activated electric polarization perpendicular to the sample edges. Furthermore, the chiral topological electromagnons give rise to a unique in-gap signal in electrical absorption experiments. These results suggest THz spectroscopy as a promising probe for topological magnons.