Lattice excitations with finite polarization and magnetization

Abstract

Ferrons are a type of quasiparticle corresponding to elementary excitations of the ferroelectric order. Analogously to how magnons modulate and transport magnetization, ferrons modulate and transport electric polarization. Here, we introduce multiferrons as elementary excitations with both electric and magnetic character. Multiferrons lead to a tilt and elliptical precession of the polarization and at the same time create a magnetization through the mechanism of dynamical multiferroicity. Using first-principles calculations for LiNbO$_3$, we show that the electric polarization of multiferrons is perpendicular to the equilibrium ferroelectric polarization, whereas the magnetization is parallel to it. Our calculations further demonstrate that multiferrons carry net electric and magnetic quadrupole and octupole moments, which we term multipolons. These multipolons could couple to internal multipolar degrees of freedom, for example in altermagnets, or to external probes such as neutrons, leading to potentially experimentally observable phenomena following coherent or thermal excitation of multiferrons.