Disorder-Induced Slow Relaxation of Phonon Polarization

The role of the polarization degree of freedom in lattice dynamics in solids has been underlined recently. We theoretically discover a relaxation mechanism for both linear and circular polarizations of acoustic phonons. In the absence of scattering, the polarization exhibits oscillatory behavior. This behavior leads to a counterintuitive result: unlike linear momentum, more frequent scattering events cause slower polarization relaxation due to motional narrowing. We validate this mechanism using the quantum kinetic equation. We derive the relaxation rates of polarizations analytically for isotropic elastic bodies and numerically for a cubic crystal. Remarkably, we reveal that linear polarizations relax more slowly than circular ones. Our findings provide a pathway to prolong the lifetime of phonon angular momentum by designing disorder. This improvement has the potential to advance thermal management in disordered materials, facilitate phononic information transport, and strengthen spin-phonon coupling in spintronic devices.