Transverse Magnetization in Spin-Orbit Coupled Antiferromagnets

Abstract

Some antiferromagnets under a magnetic field develop magnetization perpendicular to the field as well as more conventional ones parallel to the field. So far, the transverse magnetization (TM) has been attributed to either the spin canting effect or the presence of cluster magnetic multipolar ordering. However, a general theory of TM based on microscopic understanding is still missing. Here, we construct a general microscopic theory of TM in antiferromagnets with cluster magnetic multipolar ordering by considering classical spin Hamiltonians with spin anisotropy that arises from the spin-orbit coupling. First, from general symmetry analysis, we show that TM can appear only when all crystalline symmetries are broken other than the antiunitary mirror, antiunitary twofold rotation, and inversion symmetries. Moreover, by analyzing spin Hamiltonians, we show that TM always appears when the degenerate ground state manifold of the spin Hamiltonian is discrete, as long as it is not prohibited by symmetry. On the other hand, when the degenerate ground state manifold is continuous, TM generally does not appear except when the magnetic field direction and the spin configuration satisfy specific geometric conditions under single-ion anisotropy. Finally, we show that TM can induce the anomalous planar Hall effect, a unique transport phenomenon that can be used to probe multipolar antiferromagnetic structures. We believe that our theory provides a useful guideline for understanding the anomalous magnetic responses of the antiferromagnets with complex magnetic structures. © 2023 American Physical Society.