Previously, it has been shown that rapid cooling of yttrium-iron-garnet–platinum nanostructures, preheated by an electric current sent through the Pt layer, leads to overpopulation of a magnon gas and to subsequent formation of a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) of magnons. The spin Hall effect (SHE), which creates a spin-polarized current in the Pt layer, can inject or annihilate magnons depending on the electric current and applied field orientations. Here we demonstrate that the injection or annihilation of magnons via the SHE can prevent or promote the formation of a rapid cooling-induced magnon BEC. Depending on the current polarity, a change in the BEC threshold of −8% and +6% was detected. These findings demonstrate a new method to control macroscopic quantum states, paving the way for their application in spintronic devices.

This article has been published in Physical Review Letters and is available here.