Physicists Realize Time-Varying Strong Coupling in a Magnonic System
Posted on Quantum Server Networks

Physicists have taken a major leap in the field of magnonics by realizing time-varying strong coupling between magnon modes, an achievement that opens up new pathways for spin-wave–based technologies and quantum hybrid systems. This research, conducted by scientists from ShanghaiTech University, Shandong University, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Zhejiang University, was recently published in Physical Review Letters.
Breaking Temporal Symmetry in Physics
Traditional systems are static, maintaining the same properties over time. By contrast, time-varying systems break temporal translation symmetry, enabling phenomena such as time reflection, refraction, and diffraction. While most studies have focused on optical systems, this work extends the concept to magnonic systems, which consist of collective spin excitations in magnetic materials. These excitations, known as magnons, can carry and process information with very low energy losses, making them highly attractive for next-generation computing.
Magnons Meet Time Interfaces
The researchers placed a ferrimagnetic material on a coplanar waveguide and excited it with periodic microwave pump pulses. This setup created a pump-induced magnon mode (PIM) capable of responding to extremely weak microwave fields, around 10,000 times weaker than Earth’s magnetic field. By replacing continuous drives with pulses, they observed chirped Rabi-like oscillations, evidencing time-varying strong coupling between magnon modes.
Using their newly developed time-resolved frequency-comb spectroscopy (trFCS), the team was able to measure spectral variations of magnon modes on the nanosecond timescale, a resolution far beyond conventional methods. This allowed them to capture sudden dispersion changes, effectively creating time interfaces where magnon coupling could be modulated dynamically.
Time Slits and Double-Slit Magnon Diffraction
By shaping microwave pulses, the team created time slits—sharp coupling changes at precise instants. Two pulses produced a “double time slit,” yielding spectral sidebands analogous to Young’s double-slit diffraction experiment, but in the time domain for magnons. This is the first demonstration of time diffraction in magnonic systems.
Implications for Spintronics and Quantum Systems
This breakthrough could enable programmable control of magnons, efficient magnon multiplication, and novel on-chip GHz sources for low-loss computing. It also paves the way for quantum hybrid systems, where magnons can interface with photons and superconducting qubits, potentially enhancing future quantum information technologies.
The Road Ahead
The researchers plan to further refine their trFCS technique to capture ultrafast temporal phenomena such as refraction and diffraction in magnonic media. By integrating multi-slit coupling strategies on-chip, they envision a future of “grating-programmed magnonics”, unlocking unprecedented levels of control over spin waves.
Read the original article on Phys.org
Footnote: This blog article was prepared with the help of AI technologies to enhance research synthesis and presentation.
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