- Accepted Paper
Angular momentum splitter effect of -wave axial phonons in orbital altermagnets
Phys. Rev. B - Accepted 13 October, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/8wt4-df1r
Phys. Rev. B - Accepted 13 October, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/8wt4-df1r
We theoretically demonstrate that axial phonons, lattice vibration quanta carrying finite angular momentum, can host a -wave angular momentum texture in orbital altermagnets in the absence of spin-orbit coupling. We consider a minimal electronic tight-binding model with -wave loop-current order that breaks time-reversal symmetry. Within the Born-Oppenheimer approximation, we incorporate electron-phonon coupling via the molecular Berry curvature and show that the underlying -wave orbital magnetic moment texture of the electronic state is transferred to the phonons without requiring the relativistic spin-orbit coupling. Our results expand the range of platforms available for engineering axial phonons and point to functionality unique to -wave textures, including angular-momentum Seebeck and splitter effects, corresponding to longitudinal and transverse angular-momentum currents driven by a temperature gradient.
If the author has provided any supplemental materials with this article they will be available upon publication of the version of record.