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DOE OSTI · 2589360

Observing differential spin currents by resonant inelastic X-ray scattering

Gu, Yanhong [Beijing Tsinghua Institute for Frontier Interdisciplinary Innovation (China); Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)] (ORCID:0000000194994357)·Barker, Joseph [University of Leeds (United Kingdom); Tohoku University, Sendai (Japan)] (ORCID:0000000348435516)·Li, Jiemin [Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)]·Kikkawa, Takashi [Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Tokai (Japan)] (ORCID:000000027789604X)·Camino, Fernando [Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)] (ORCID:0000000305752976)·Kisslinger, Kim [Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)]·Sinsheimer, John [Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)]·Lienhard, Lukas [Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)] (ORCID:0009000670717180)·Bauer, Jackson J. [Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000298152779)·Ross, Caroline A. [Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000322621249)·Basov, Dmitri N. [Columbia University, New York, NY (United States)] (ORCID:0000000197855387)·Saitoh, Eiji [The University of Tokyo (Japan); Tohoku University, Sendai (Japan); RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science (CEMS), Wako (Japan)] (ORCID:0000000326750718)·Pelliciari, Jonathan [Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)] (ORCID:0000000315087746)·Bauer, Gerrit E. W. [Tohoku University, Sendai (Japan)] (ORCID:0000000236158673)·Bisogni, Valentina [Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)] (ORCID:0000000273999930)
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Abstract

Controlling spin currents, that is, the flow of spin angular momentum, in small magnetic devices, is the principal objective of spin electronics, a main contender for future energy-efficient information technologies. A pure spin current has never been measured directly because the associated electric stray fields and/or shifts in the non-equilibrium spin-dependent distribution functions are too small for conventional experimental detection methods optimized for charge transport. Here we report that resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS) can bridge this gap by measuring the spin current carried by magnons—the quanta of the spin wave excitations of the magnetic order—in the presence of temperature gradients across a magnetic insulator. This is possible due to the sensitivity of the momentum- and energy-resolved RIXS intensity to minute changes in the magnon distribution under non-equilibrium conditions. Furthermore, we use the Boltzmann equation in the relaxation time approximation to extract transport parameters, such as the magnon lifetime at finite momentum, essential for the realization of magnon spintronics.

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36 MATERIALS SCIENCEElectronic and spintronic devicesMagnetic properties and materialsSpintronics

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Gu, Yanhong [Beijing Tsinghua Institute for Frontier Interdisciplinary Innovation (China); Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)] (ORCID:0000000194994357), Barker, Joseph [University of Leeds (United Kingdom); Tohoku University, Sendai (Japan)] (ORCID:0000000348435516), Li, Jiemin [Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)], Kikkawa, Takashi [Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Tokai (Japan)] (ORCID:000000027789604X), Camino, Fernando [Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)] (ORCID:0000000305752976), Kisslinger, Kim [Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)], Sinsheimer, John [Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)], Lienhard, Lukas [Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)] (ORCID:0009000670717180), Bauer, Jackson J. [Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000298152779), Ross, Caroline A. [Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000322621249), Basov, Dmitri N. [Columbia University, New York, NY (United States)] (ORCID:0000000197855387), Saitoh, Eiji [The University of Tokyo (Japan); Tohoku University, Sendai (Japan); RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science (CEMS), Wako (Japan)] (ORCID:0000000326750718), Pelliciari, Jonathan [Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)] (ORCID:0000000315087746), Bauer, Gerrit E. W. [Tohoku University, Sendai (Japan)] (ORCID:0000000236158673), Bisogni, Valentina [Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)] (ORCID:0000000273999930). 2025-09-10. Observing differential spin currents by resonant inelastic X-ray scattering. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09488-9

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