Chiral Magnon Dynamics in a Kitaev Magnet Revealed by Magneto-Optics

Chiral Magnon Dynamics in a Kitaev Magnet Revealed by Magneto-Optics | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Chiral Magnon Dynamics in a Kitaev Magnet Revealed by Magneto-Optics Nimrod Bachar, Kartik Panda, Chaebin Kim, Daniel Bazyliansky, and 12 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8992116/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Magnetic excitations in quantum materials can acquire chirality when time-reversal or spatial-inversion symmetries are broken, giving rise to nonreciprocal spin dynamics and circular dichroism. Such chiral magnons play a central role in contemporary condensed-matter physics, exist in magnetic, topological, and multiferroic materials, and thereby promote chiral spintronics. The underlying phenomena range from nonreciprocal magnon transport and optical activity to chiral spin textures such as skyrmions. They also include recently identified unconventional magnetic states, such as $g$-wave altermagnets and odd-parity $p$-wave magnets. In this context, bond-dependent magnetic interactions, such as those in Kitaev materials, provide a natural microscopic mechanism that can generate unconventional magnetic textures and anisotropic spin dynamics. While signatures of Kitaev physics have been widely sought in honeycomb magnets, direct experimental evidence for chiral magnons arising from Kitaev exchange remains scarce. Here we show, both experimentally and theoretically, that the zero-field splitting and field-dependent optical handedness of the chiral electromagnons in the helical magnetic order of NiI$_2$, arise from the interplay of Kitaev-type exchange and single-ion anisotropy. Physical sciences/Materials science/Condensed-matter physics/Magnetic properties and materials Physical sciences/Materials science/Condensed-matter physics/Electronic properties and materials Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files SIText.pdf Supplementary Information for "Chiral Magnon Dynamics in a Kitaev Magnet Revealed by Magneto-Optics" Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8992116","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":615375966,"identity":"6774bb7d-7ab2-4489-b9de-a672251ca0c9","order_by":0,"name":"Nimrod 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