Chiral Hinge Magnons in Second-Order Topological Magnon Insulators

Abstract: When interacting spins in condensed matter order ferromagnetically, their ground state wave function is topologically trivial. Nonetheless, in two dimensions, the ferromagnetic state can support spin excitations with nontrivial topology, an exotic state known as topological magnon insulator (TMI). Here, we theoretically unveil and numerically confirm a novel ferromagnetic state in three dimensions dubbed second-order TMI, whose hallmarks are excitations at its hinges, where facets intersect. Since ferromagnetism naturally comes with broken time-reversal symmetry, the hinge magnons are chiral, rendering backscattering impossible. Hence, they trace out a three-dimensional path about the sample unimpeded by defects and are topologically protected by the spectral gap. They are remarkably robust against disorder and simultaneously highly tunable by atomic-level engineering of the sample termination. Our findings empower magnonics with the tools of higher-order topology, a promising route to combine low-energy information transfer free of Joule heating with three-dimensional vertical integration.