Spin-orbit locking of magnons with localized microwave fields

Abstract

We address the photonic spin-orbit coupling known from nano-optics and plasmonics in the microwave regime. The spin $\mathbf{S}$ and momentum $\mathbf{q}$ of microwaves emitted by an excited magnetic particle are locked by $\mathbf{q}\cdot\mathbf{S}=0$ with a fixed chirality $\hat{\mathbf{n}}\cdot(\hat{\bf S}\times\hat{\bf q})=1$ when evanescent along $\hat{\mathbf{n}}\perp {\bf q}$. This field excites magnons in a nearby magnetic film in the form of directional beams that rotate with the magnetization direction. The exchange of these magnons between two distant nanomagnets leads to a highly tunable strong coupling and entangles their excited states.