US scientists find new way to control magnetic waves for efficient quantum computing

Key Points:

• Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Ames National Laboratory have discovered how to control the handedness (chirality) of magnons by altering a material's magnetic states via an external magnetic field, overcoming a significant challenge in physics.
• Magnons, which are spin waves that transmit energy and digital information without electrical charge movement, exist in ferrimagnets with both left- and right-handed forms due to uncompensated magnetic sublattices, enabling unique magnetic behaviors.
• The team studied Kagome metals like TbMn₆Sn₆ and ErMn₆Sn₆, finding that in some materials, left- and right-handed magnon bands cross without interaction, while in others, they hybridize and open an energy gap, allowing control over magnon behavior.
• By manipulating magnetic anisotropy or applying external fields, researchers can switch magnon handedness with minimal energy, paving the way for advancements in high-efficiency quantum computing and quantum information technologies.
• This breakthrough addresses a long-standing problem in quantum materials research and enhances the potential for using magnons in low-power information processing.