Magnons and magnetic fluctuations in atomically thin MnBi2Te4

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

Electron band topology is combined with intrinsic magnetic orders in MnBi₂Te₄, leading to novel quantum phases. Here we investigate collective spin excitations (i.e. magnons) and spin fluctuations in atomically thin MnBi₂Te₄ flakes using Raman spectroscopy. In a two-septuple layer with non-trivial topology, magnon characteristics evolve as an external magnetic field tunes the ground state through three ordered phases: antiferromagnet, canted antiferromagnet, and ferromagnet. The Raman selection rules are determined by both the crystal symmetry and magnetic order while the magnon energy is determined by different interaction terms. Using non-interacting spin-wave theory, we extract the spin-wave gap at zero magnetic field, an anisotropy energy, and interlayer exchange in bilayers. We also find magnetic fluctuations increase with reduced thickness, which may contribute to a less robust magnetic order in single layers.