Nonreciprocal directional dichroism in multiferroics

Abstract

Nonreciprocal directional dichroism in multiferroics, namely magnetoelectric coupling in the dynamic regime, is endowed with rich physics and promising applications, which are entangled with fundamental physical components, such as spin, orbital, lattice, charge, and topology. Such a linear nonreciprocal response behavior in the GHz-THz frequency range, represented by optical magnetoelectric effect and magnetochiral dichroism, occurs ubiquitously in material systems with the spontaneous breaking of space-time symmetry, and is subject to Onsager’s reciprocal theorem in the thermodynamic limit. Microscopically, these nonreciprocal responses are usually encoded by toroidization (chirality) and electromagnon (quasiparticle), thus establishing a comprehensive understanding of magnetoelectric coupling and irreversible dynamics. Herein, the basic mechanisms and emergent nonreciprocal directional dichroism in single-phase multiferroics are summarized. We expect that the present review will stimulate diverse possibilities toward nonreciprocal directional dichroism within and beyond multiferroics.