Phenomenological Evidence for the Phonon Hall Effect

Abstract

In the electrical Hall effect, a magnetic field, applied perpendicular to an electrical current, induces through the Lorentz force a voltage perpendicular to the field and the current. It is generally assumed that an analogous effect cannot exist in the phonon thermal conductivity, as there is no charge transport associated with phonon propagation. In this Letter, we argue that such a magnetotransverse thermal effect should exist and experimentally demonstrate this "phonon Hall effect" in Tb3Ga5O12.