Phonon pseudoangular momentum in $\alpha$-MoO$_3$

Abstract

In recent studies, it has been discovered that phonons can carry angular momentum, leading to a series of investigations into systems with 3-fold rotation symmetry. However, for systems with 2-fold screw rotational symmetry, such as $\alpha$-MoO$_3$, there has been no relevant discussion. In this paper, we investigated the pseudoangular momentum of phonons in crystals with 2-fold screw rotational symmetry. Taking $\alpha$-MoO$_3$ as an example, we explain the selection rules in circularly polarized Raman experiments resulting from pseudoangular momentum conservation, providing important guidance for experiments. This study of pseudoangular momentum in $\alpha$-MoO$_3$ opens up a new degree of freedom for its potential applications, expanding into new application domains.