SU(3) Topology of Magnon-Phonon Hybridization in 2D Antiferromagnets

Abstract: Magnon-phonon hybrid excitations are studied theoretically in a two-dimensional antiferromagnet with an easy axis normal to the plane. We show that two magnon bands and one phonon band are intertwined by the magnetoelastic coupling through a nontrivial SU(3) topology, which can be intuitively perceived by identifying a skyrmion structure in the momentum space. We develop a continuum theory as the long-wavelength approximation to the tight-binding model, showing our results are insensitive to lattice details and generally applicable to two-dimensional antiferromagnets. The theoretical results can be probed by measuring the thermal Hall conductance as a function of the temperature and the magnetic field. We envision that the magnetoelastic coupling in antiferromagnets can be a promising venue in search of various topological excitations, which cannot be found in magnetic or elastic models alone.