Chiral phonons

article Chiral phonons published yes Dominik M. Juraschek author R. Matthias Geilhufe author Hanyu Zhu author Martina Basini author Peter Baum author Andrey Baydin author Swati Chaudhary author Michael Fechner author Benedetta Flebus author Gael Grissonnanche author Andrei I. Kirilyuk author Mikhail Lemeshko author 37CB05FA-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A870000-0002-6990-7802 Sebastian F. Maehrlein author Maxime Mignolet author Shuichi Murakami author Qian Niu author Ulrich Nowak author Carl P. Romao author Habib Rostami author Takuya Satoh author Nicola A. Spaldin author Hiroki Ueda author Lifa Zhang author MiLe department A rapidly increasing body of work reporting phenomena associated with lattice vibrations carrying angular momentum has led to the emergence of the field of chiral phonons. Some of these properties, such as the phonon magnetic moment, also occur in achiral phonons that are circularly or elliptically polarized, while the presence of chirality has additional implications for the types of interaction allowed between the phonons and light, electrons and other quasiparticles. In this Perspective we introduce a framework for classifying phonons with angular momentum, and provide illustrations of the different types using examples from the recent literature. Specifically, we suggest the term ‘axial phonon’ to encompass all phonons that carry angular momentum, real or pseudo, and reserve the term ‘chiral phonon’ for those phonons that break improper rotational symmetry. We hope that this scheme provides clarification on the matter of phonon chirality and will serve as a guide for future research. Springer Nature2025 eng Nature Physics 1745-2473 1745-2481 00157576510000110.1038/s41567-025-03001-9 211532-1540 Juraschek DM, Geilhufe RM, Zhu H, et al. Chiral phonons. Nature Physics. 2025;21:1532-1540. doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-025-03001-9">10.1038/s41567-025-03001-9</a> Juraschek, D. M., Geilhufe, R. M., Zhu, H., Basini, M., Baum, P., Baydin, A., … Zhang, L. (2025). Chiral phonons. Nature Physics. Springer Nature. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-025-03001-9">https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-025-03001-9</a> D. M. Juraschek et al., “Chiral phonons,” Nature Physics, vol. 21. Springer Nature, pp. 1532–1540, 2025. Juraschek, Dominik M., et al. “Chiral Phonons.” Nature Physics, vol. 21, Springer Nature, 2025, pp. 1532–40, doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-025-03001-9">10.1038/s41567-025-03001-9</a>. Juraschek DM, Geilhufe RM, Zhu H, Basini M, Baum P, Baydin A, Chaudhary S, Fechner M, Flebus B, Grissonnanche G, Kirilyuk AI, Lemeshko M, Maehrlein SF, Mignolet M, Murakami S, Niu Q, Nowak U, Romao CP, Rostami H, Satoh T, Spaldin NA, Ueda H, Zhang L. 2025. Chiral phonons. Nature Physics. 21, 1532–1540. D.M. Juraschek, R.M. Geilhufe, H. Zhu, M. Basini, P. Baum, A. Baydin, S. Chaudhary, M. Fechner, B. Flebus, G. Grissonnanche, A.I. Kirilyuk, M. Lemeshko, S.F. Maehrlein, M. Mignolet, S. Murakami, Q. Niu, U. Nowak, C.P. Romao, H. Rostami, T. Satoh, N.A. Spaldin, H. Ueda, L. Zhang, Nature Physics 21 (2025) 1532–1540. Juraschek, Dominik M., R. Matthias Geilhufe, Hanyu Zhu, Martina Basini, Peter Baum, Andrey Baydin, Swati Chaudhary, et al. “Chiral Phonons.” Nature Physics. Springer Nature, 2025. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-025-03001-9">https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-025-03001-9</a>. 204322025-10-05T22:01:37Z2026-01-05T13:25:59Z