Pseudomagnetic fields for sound at the nanoscale
Significance Unlike electrons, phonons do not feel a magnetic field, because they are not charged. Thus, much of the physics connected with charged particles in magnetic fields is absent for phonons, be it the Lorentz force or the unidirectional transport along the sample edges. Recently, researchers have started to study how one might make phonons akin to electrons in a magnetic field or related topological settings. The first experimental implementations involving coupled pendula or gyroscopes or air currents have already been realized at the macroscopic scale. Here, we describe a design that is well-suited for the nanoscale. It is purely geometric in nature and could be implemented based on an already experimentally demonstrated platform, a simple patterned 2D material.