Remote magnon sensing detects the universal phase stiffness jump in Bi 2 Sr 2 CaCu 2 O 8+ delta

arXiv:2610.08934 · cond-mat.supr-con, cond-mat.str-el · Submitted 2026-10-06 · Read on arXiv

cond-mat.supr-con, cond-mat.str-el

Submitted: 2026-10-06

Updated: 2026-10-06

Comments: 8+25 pages, 4+3 figures

License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

The gist: Phase stiffness governs macroscopic quantum coherence in superfluids and superconductors, providing a sensitive probe of condensate depletion, fluctuations, and phase transitions.

Terminology

Abstract

Phase stiffness governs macroscopic quantum coherence in superfluids and superconductors, providing a sensitive probe of condensate depletion, fluctuations, and phase transitions. However quantitative and spatially resolved measurements remain challenging. Here we report a contactless, local, all-optical measurement of superconducting phase stiffness using propagating antiferromagnetic magnons as remote sensors. In CrSBr, strong exciton-magnon coupling enables optical excitation and detection of magnon wavepackets and precise determination of their group velocity. When CrSBr is interfaced with underdoped Bi 2 Sr 2 CaCu 2 O 8+δ, we find that the magnon group velocity is substantially enhanced below the superconducting transition and quantitatively encodes the phase stiffness through Meissner screening currents. Using this capability, we identify a parallel-field-induced Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless transition through direct observation of the universal phase-stiffness jump, revealing a field-controlled route to expose intrinsic two-dimensional phase-ordering physics in a bulk cuprate. Our work establishes propagating magnons as local probes of superconducting electrodynamics and phase-coherent phenomena in low-dimensional quantum materials.

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