Higher-Order Topological States in Chiral Split Magnons of Honeycomb Altermagnets

Abstract We theoretically explore higher-order topological magnons in collinear altermagnets, encompassing a dimensional hierarchy ranging from localized corner modes to propagating hinge excitations. By employing antiferromagnetic interlayer coupling in bosonic Bogoliubov–de Gennes Hamiltonian, our work reveals anisotropic surface states and spatially distributed hinge modes propagating along facet intersections. We track the adiabatic evolution of Wannier centers to identify the bulk polarization with second-order topological magnon insulator, where various magnon spectra demonstrate symmetry-protected band structure beyond conventional topology. Leveraging the stability and propagative properties of hinge modes, these unconventional magnons demonstrate manipulability in atomic-scale modifications of termination. Our study integrates altermagnetism with higher-order topology, which advances magnon-based quantum computing processing energy-efficient integrated architectures and information transfer.