Odd-Parity Chiral Magnons in Collinear Antiferromagnetic Multiferroics: Symmetry Classification and Ferroelectric Switching

Abstract

The coupling between ferroelectrics and magnetism presents a promising avenue for low-dissipation spintronic devices. However, such couplings remain rare, and the direct realization of magnetic order driven by ferroelectric switching in insulators continues to pose a significant challenge. Here, we identify a class of collinear antiferromagnetic multiferroics in which intra-sublattice Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) induces odd-parity chiral magnons that are reversible via ferroelectric switching. Leveraging the charge-neutral nature of magnons, such multiferroics enable non-volatile ferroelectric control over magnon spin splitting, Hall transport, and spin polarization in antiferromagnetic insulators. Remarkably, magnetic group analysis and spin wave calculations reveal that the chiral splitting adopts three planar odd-parity forms, f-wave, p-wave, and fully-gapped types, with an intriguing Néel vector dependence. Furthermore, density functional theory calculations validate various material candidates, ranging from two-dimensional to bulk systems. Our work provides new insights into the realization of odd-parity chiral magnons in collinear antiferromagnets and opens new avenues for magnetoelectric coupling mechanisms in multiferroics.