Twisted dynamics in magnetic insulators with structured light

Abstract

We explore the magnetoelastic dynamics in magnetic insulators exposed to a focused twisted laser beam, revealing the generation of twisted magnons and phonons through magnetoelastic coupling driven by orbital angular momentum transfer. The excited modes exhibit unique orbital quantum numbers, with coherently induced twisted dynamics mirroring the handedness of excitation pulse, i.e., the sign of orbital quantum number, while heating-induced dynamics remain unaffected by the pulse's orbital angular momentum. This approach provides precise spatial control of coherent spin dynamics in magnetic materials.