Theory of electric field induced one-magnon resonance in cycloidal spin magnets

Abstract

We propose a new mechanism to induce a novel one-magnon excitation by the electric component of light in cycloidal spin states, i.e. so called electromagnon process. We calculated optical spectra in the cycloidal spin structures as observed in multiferroic perovskite manganites RMnO3 where novel magnetic excitations induced by oscillating electric fields are observed. When symmetric spin-dependent electric polarizations are introduced, we have light absorptions at terahertz frequencies with one- and two-magnon excitations driven by the electric component of light. Our results show that some parts of optical spectra observed experimentally at terahertz frequencies are one-magnon excitation absorptions.