2026-01-21 ノースカロライナ州立大学(NC State)
A quartz crystal subjected to a temperature gradient, leading to the generation of orbital angular momentum in the surrounding electron environment. Image: NC State University
＜関連情報＞
- https://news.ncsu.edu/2026/01/chiral-phonons-create-orbital-current-via-their-own-magnetism/
- https://www.nature.com/articles/s41567-025-03134-x
- https://tiisys.com/blog/2023/02/14/post-117110/
カイラルフォノンによって誘起される軌道ゼーベック効果 Orbital Seebeck effect induced by chiral phonons
Yoji Nabei,Cong Yang,Hong Sun,Hana Jones,Thuc Mai,Tian Wang,Rikard Bodin,Binod Pandey,Ziqi Wang,Yuzan Xiong,Andrew H. Comstock,Benjamin Ewing,John Bingen,Rui Sun,Dmitry Smirnov,Wei Zhang,Axel Hoffmann,Rahul Rao,Ming Hu,Z. Valy Vardeny,Binghai Yan,Xiaosong Li,Jun Zhou,Jun Liu & Dali Sun
Nature Physics Published:21 January 2026
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-025-03134-x
Abstract
The orbital angular momentum of electrons presents exciting opportunities for developing energy-efficient, low-power magnetic devices. Typically, the generation of orbital currents is driven by the transfer of orbital angular momentum from 3d transition metal magnets, either through the application of an electric field using the orbital Hall effect or through magnetization dynamics. Chiral phonons are quantized lattice vibrations that carry non-zero angular momentum due to the circular motion of atoms. An interplay of chiral phonon dynamics and electrons would enable the direct generation of orbital angular momentum, even without the need for magnetic elements. Here we experimentally demonstrate the generation of orbital currents from chiral phonons activated in the chiral insulator α-quartz under an applied magnetic field and a temperature gradient. We refer to this phenomenon as the orbital Seebeck effect. The generated orbital current is selectively detected in tungsten and titanium films deposited on quartz through the inverse orbital Hall effect. Our findings hold promise for orbitronics based on chiral phonons in non-magnetic insulators and shed light on the fundamental understanding of chiral phonons and their interaction with electron orbitals.
