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The interplay of charge, spin, lattice, and orbital degrees of freedom in correlated materials often leads to rich and exotic properties. Recent studies have brought new perspectives to bosonic collective excitations in correlated materials. For example, inelastic neutron scattering experiments revealed non-trivial band topology for magnons and spin–orbit excitons (SOEs) in a quantum magnet CoTiO₃(CTO). Here, we report phonon properties resulting from a combination of strong spin–orbit coupling, large crystal field splitting, and trigonal distortion in CTO. Specifically, the interaction between SOEs and phonons endows chirality to two $E_g$phonon modes and leads to large phonon magnetic moments observed in magneto-Raman spectra. The remarkably strong magneto-phononic effect originates from the hybridization of SOEs and phonons due to their close energy proximity. While chiral phonons have been associated with electronic topology in some materials, our work suggests opportunities may arise by exploring chiral phonons coupled to topological bosons. 

Abstract Motivated by the recent excitement around the physics of twisted transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) multilayer systems, we study strongly correlated phases of TMD heterobilayers under the influence of light. We consider both waveguide light and circularly polarized light. The former allows for longitudinally polarized light, which in the high frequency limit can be used to selectively modify interlayer hoppings in a tight-binding model. We argue based on quasi-degenerate perturbation theory that changes to the interlayer hoppings can be captured as a modulation to the strength of the moiré potential in a continuum model. As a consequence, waveguide light can be used to drive transitions between a myriad of different magnetic phases, including a transition from a 120 ∘ Neel phase to a stripe ordered magnetic phase, or from a spin density wave phase to a paramagnetic phase, among others. When the system is subjected to circularly polarized light we find that the effective mass of the active TMD layer is modified by an applied electromagnetic field. By simultaneously applying waveguide light and circularly polarized light to a system, one has a high level of control in moving through the phase diagram in-situ. Lastly, we comment on the experimental feasibility of Floquet state preparation and argue that it is within reach of available techniques when the system is coupled to a judiciously chosen bath. 

The recently demonstrated chiral modes of lattice motion carry angular momentum and therefore directly couple to magnetic fields. Notably, their magnetic moments are predicted to be strongly influenced by electronic contributions. Here, we have studied the magnetic response of transverse optical phonons in a set of Pb_1−xSn_xTe films, which is a topological crystalline insulator forx> 0.32 and has a ferroelectric transition at anx-dependent critical temperature. Polarization-dependent terahertz magnetospectroscopy measurements revealed Zeeman splittings and diamagnetic shifts, demonstrating a large phonon magnetic moment. Films in the topological phase exhibited phonon magnetic moment values that were larger than those in the topologically trivial samples by two orders of magnitude. Furthermore, the sign of the effective phonong-factor was opposite in the two phases, a signature of the topological transition according to our model. These results strongly indicate the existence of interplay between the magnetic properties of chiral phonons and the topology of the electronic band structure. 

Terahertz (THz) magnetoresistance effects have been extensively investigated and have shown promising results for applications in magnetic modulations of the amplitude of THz waves. However, THz magnetocapacitance in dielectric systems, which is essential for phase modulations of THz radiation, remains largely unexplored. Here, we study the THz response of a bulk single crystal of La_0.875Sr_0.125MnO₃at around its Curie temperature, observing significant magnetic-field-induced changes in the THz resistance and capacitance extracted from the optical conductivity. We discuss possible mechanisms for the observed coexistence of colossal THz magnetoresistance and magnetocapacitance in a perovskite manganite that is not multiferroic. This work enhances our understanding of colossal magnetoresistance in a complex system with THz spectroscopy and demonstrates potential use of perovskite manganites in THz technology.