Chiral phono-magnetism and spin-rotation coupling*

High intensity THz lasers allow for the coherent excitation of individual phonon modes. The ultrafast control of emergent magnetism by means of phonons opens up new tuning mechanisms for functional materials. While theoretically predicted phonon magnetic moments are tiny, recent experiments hint towards a significant magnetization in various materials. I will give an introduction into chiral phono-magnetism and outline the current challenges in the field. Furthermore, I introduce a coupling mechanism between rotational degrees of freedom and the electron spin. This coupling introduces the transient level-splitting of spin-up and spin-down channels and a resulting magnetization.

[1] Geilhufe et al., Physical Review Research, 3, L022011, 2021

[2] Geilhufe, Physical Review Research, 4, L012004, 2022

[3] Geilhufe & Hergert, Physical Review B, 107, L020406, 2023