Magnetic monopoles and toroidal moments in LuFeO$_3$ and related compounds

Abstract

Magnetic monopoles and toroidal order are compelling features that have long been theorized but remain elusive in real materials. Multiferroic hexagonal ferrites are an interesting realization of frustrated triangular lattice, where magnetic order is coupled to ferroelectricity and trimerization. Here we propose a mechanism, through which magnetic monopolar and toroidal orders emerge from the combination of 120$^\circ$ antiferromagnetism and trimerization, present in hexagonal manganites and ferrites. The experimentally observable signatures of magnetic monopolar and toroidal orders are identified in the inelastic neutron scattering cross section, simulated from a microscopic model of LuFeO3. The non-reciprocal magnon propagation is demonstrated.