Department of Applied Physics and Quantum Phase Electronics Center (QPEC), University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8656, Japan.
RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science (CEMS), Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan.
Science. 2021 Apr 30;372(6541):496-500. doi: 10.1126/science.aaz4312.
Controlling the chiral degree of freedom in matter has long been an important issue for many fields of science. The spin-spiral order, which exhibits a strong magnetoelectric coupling, gives rise to chirality irrespective of the atomic arrangement of matter. Here, we report the resonantly enhanced natural optical activity on the electrically active magnetic excitation, that is, electromagnon, in multiferroic cupric oxide. The electric field control of the natural optical activity is demonstrated through magnetically induced chirality endowed with magnetoelectric coupling. These optical properties inherent to multiferroics may lead to optical devices based on the control of chirality.
控制物质中的手性自由度一直是许多科学领域的重要问题。自旋螺旋有序态表现出强烈的磁电耦合，无论物质的原子排列如何，都会产生手性。在这里，我们报告了在多铁性氧化铜中电活性磁激发，即电磁子，的共振增强自然旋光。通过磁电耦合赋予的磁致手性，证明了自然旋光对电场的控制。多铁性固有的这些光学性质可能会导致基于手性控制的光学器件。
