Supercurrent in a room-temperature Bose–Einstein magnon condensate

A supercurrent is a macroscopic effect of a phase-induced collective motion of a quantum condensate. So far, experimentally observed supercurrent phenomena such as superconductivity and superfluidity have been restricted to cryogenic temperatures. Here, we report on the discovery of a supercurrent in a Bose–Einstein magnon condensate prepared in a room-temperature ferrimagnetic film. The magnon condensate is formed in a parametrically pumped magnon gas and is subject to a thermal gradient created by local laser heating of the film. The appearance of the supercurrent, which is driven by a thermally induced phase shift in the condensate wavefunction, is evidenced by analysis of the temporal evolution of the magnon density measured by means of Brillouin light scattering spectroscopy. Our findings offer opportunities for the investigation of room-temperature macroscopic quantum phenomena and their potential applications at ambient conditions. Studies of supercurrent phenomena, such as superconductivity and superfluidity, are usually restricted to cryogenic temperatures, but evidence suggests that a magnon supercurrent can be excited in a Bose–Einstein magnon condensate at room temperature.