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Topological surface magnon-polariton in an insulating canted antiferromagnet

Weixin Li1,*, Rundong Yuan2,*,†, Fenglin Zhong3,4, Bo Peng2, Jean-Philippe Ansermet5,6, and Haiming Yu1,7,‡

  • *These authors contributed equally to this work.
  • †Contact author: ry306@cam.ac.uk
  • ‡Contact author: haiming.yu@buaa.edu.cn
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Phys. Rev. B 113, 104439 – Published 23 March, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/nml3-4zyn

Abstract

Excitation and control of antiferromagnetic magnon modes lie at the heart of coherent antiferromagnetic spintronics. Here, we propose a topological surface magnon-polariton as a new approach in the prototypical magnonic material hematite. We show that in an insulating canted antiferromagnet, where strong-coupled magnon-photon modes can be achieved using on-chip microwave layouts, a surface magnon-polariton mode exists in the gap of the bulk magnon-photon bands. The emergence of surface magnon-polariton mode is further attributed to the nontrivial topology of bulk magnon-photon bands. Magnon-photon coupling enhances the Berry curvature near the anticrossing points, leading to a topological bulk Chern band associated with the surface magnon-polaritons. Our work provides a general principle for the utilization of optomagnetic properties in antiferromagnets, with an illustration of its experimental feasibility and wide generality as manifested in hematite.

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Phys. Rev. B 113, 104439– Published 23 March, 2026
  • Received 27 October 2025
  • Revised 10 February 2026
  • Accepted 5 March 2026
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