Observation of elastic spin with chiral meta-sources

Directional routing of one-way classical wave has raised tremendous interests about spin-related phenomena. This sparks specifically the elastic wave study of pseudo-spin in meta-structures to perform robust manipulations. Unlike pseudo-spin in mathematics, the intrinsic spin angular momentum of elastic wave is predicted quite recently which exhibits selective excitation of unidirectional propagation even in conventional solids. However, due to the challenge of building up chiral elastic sources, the experimental observation of intrinsic spin of elastic wave is still missing. Here, we successfully measure the elastic spin in Rayleigh and Lamb modes by adopting elaborately designed chiral meta-sources that excite locally rotating displacement polarization. We observe the unidirectional routing of chiral elastic waves, characterize the different elastic spins along different directions, and demonstrate the spin-momentum locking in broad frequency ranges. We also find the selective one-way Lamb wave carries opposite elastic spin on two plate surfaces in additional to the source chirality.

Altermagnetism: spin-momentum locked phase protected by non-relativistic symmetries

The search for novel magnetic quantum phases, phenomena and functional materials has been guided by relativistic magnetic-symmetry groups in coupled spin and real space from the dawn of the field in 1950s to the modern era of topological matter. However, the magnetic groups cannot disentangle non-relativistic phases and effects, such as the recently reported unconventional spin physics in collinear antiferromagnets, from the typically weak relativistic spin-orbit coupling phenomena. Here we discover that more general spin symmetries in decoupled spin and crystal space categorize non-relativistic collinear magnetism in three phases: conventional ferromagnets and antiferromangets, and a third distinct phase combining zero net magnetization with an alternating spin-momentum locking in energy bands, which we dub "altermagnetic". For this third basic magnetic phase, which is omitted by the relativistic magnetic groups, we develop a spin-group theory describing six characteristic types of the altermagnetic spin-momentum locking. We demonstrate an extraordinary spin-splitting mechanism in altermagnetic bands originating from a local electric crystal field, which contrasts with the conventional magnetic or relativistic splitting by global magnetization or inversion asymmetry. Based on first-principles calculations, we identify altermagnetic candidates ranging from insulators and metals to a parent crystal of cuprate superconductor. Our results underpin emerging research of quantum phases and spintronics in high-temperature magnets with light elements, vanishing net magnetization, and strong spin-coherence.

Complete complementarity relations and their Lorentz invariance

It is well known that entanglement under Lorentz boosts is highly dependent on the boost scenario in question. For single-particle states, a spin-momentum product state can be transformed into an entangled state. However, entanglement is just one of the aspects that completely characterizes a quantum system. The other two are known as the wave-particle duality. Although the entanglement entropy does not remain invariant under Lorentz boosts, and neither do the measures of predictability and coherence, we show here that these three measures taken together, in a complete complementarity relation (CCR), are Lorentz invariant. Peres et al. (Peres et al. 2002 Phys. Rev. Lett. 88 , 230402. ( doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.88.230402 )) realized that even though it is possible to formally define spin in any Lorentz frame, there is no relationship between the observable expectation values in different Lorentz frames. Analogously, one can, in principle, define complementary relations in any Lorentz frame, but there is no obvious transformation law relating complementary relations in different frames. However, our result shows that the CCRs have the same value in any Lorentz frame, i.e. there is a transformation law connecting the CCRs. In addition, we explore relativistic scenarios for single and two-particle states, which helps in understanding the exchange of different aspects of a quantum system under Lorentz boosts.