Ames Lab Researchers Unlock Control of Magnon Handedness in Kagome Metals
Researchers at the US Department of Energy’s Ames National Laboratory have developed a method to control the chirality, or handedness, of magnons in ferrimagnetic materials. By applying external magnetic fields, scientists can manipulate the spin waves that carry information without moving electrical charge, potentially reducing heat generation and power loss in quantum computing. The study focuses on Kagome metals, specifically TbMn₆Sn₆ and ErMn₆Sn₆, revealing how magnetic anisotropy and field application can switch magnon handedness with minimal energy input.
Key points
- Ames National Laboratory scientists demonstrated that the handedness of magnons can be controlled by altering a material’s magnetic state via an external magnetic field.
- Magnons are elementary excitations of magnetic motion that transmit energy and digital information without physical charge movement, avoiding the heat and power loss associated with conventional electronics.
- The research focused on ferrimagnets, which contain uncompensated sublattices that naturally support both left- and right-handed magnon bands separated by internal molecular fields.
- In Kagome metal TbMn₆Sn₆, left- and right-handed magnon bands cross without interacting, whereas in ErMn₆Sn₆, they interact to create an energy gap.
- By adjusting rare-earth magnetic anisotropy or applying external fields, researchers can manipulate the symmetry of ferrimagnetic order, allowing the switching of magnon handedness with relatively small energy inputs.
Background
This development follows recent advancements in magnetic material control, such as the 2026 discovery by Bristol University researchers linking antiferromagnetic spin fluctuations to superconductivity in electron-doped cuprates. Additionally, earlier work in October 2026 demonstrated that exciton-polariton condensates in CrSBr microwires could be magnetically tuned by up to 10.5 meV, highlighting the growing importance of magnetic field manipulation in quantum technologies. The current finding addresses a long-standing challenge in physics regarding the manipulation of magnon chirality, which is critical for efficient quantum information processing.
Why it matters
Controlling magnon handedness offers a pathway to high-efficiency quantum computing and quantum information technologies. Since magnons transmit information without moving electrical charge, they eliminate the heat generation and power loss inherent in traditional electronics. The ability to switch magnon chirality with minimal energy input could lead to more energy-efficient spintronic devices and quantum processors, addressing a significant hurdle in the development of scalable quantum systems.
What to watch
Researchers will likely explore the practical integration of these magnon control mechanisms into quantum computing architectures. Further studies may investigate how the momentum-dependent chirality observed in Kagome metals can be leveraged for specific quantum applications, potentially leading to new types of low-power information processing hardware.
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