Detection and Control of Electronic Orbital Magnetism by Spin Waves in Honeycomb Ferromagnets

Exploring the orbital degree of freedom has recently become a fascinating research topic in magnetism. We demonstrate that spin waves provide a way to control electronic orbital magnetism by the mechanism of scalar spin chirality, allowing for experimental detection using techniques such as the magneto-optical Kerr effect and scanning transmission electron microscopy. Using linear spin wave theory, we show that electronic magnon-driven orbital magnetization is highly sensitive to the character of magnonic excitations. The induced electronic orbital magnetism and the Nernst transport properties of the orbital angular momentum can be regulated by the strength of the Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction and Kitaev interaction as well as by the direction and magnitude of the external magnetic field. Using first-principles calculations, we investigate the topological orbital susceptibility and magnon-related orbital properties in the ferromagnetic honeycomb material CrI3, highlighting their possible important role in real materials.