On the effect of inhomogeneous magnetoelectric (flexomagnetoelectric) interaction on the spectrum and properties of magnons in multiferroics

The features of the magnon spectrum in easy-plane multiferroics (such as BiFeO₃), which allow inhomogeneous magnetoelectric (flexomagnetoelectric) interaction P[(L∇)L − LdivL], where L and P are the antiferromagnetic moment and electric polarization, respectively, have been theoretically analyzed. It has been shown that, in contrast to the magnon spectrum of a usual easy-plane antiferromagnet, a multiferroic with this magnetic structure is characterized by, first, the interaction between magnons of both branches propagating along the weak ferromagnetic moment and the appearance of a minimum (or zero) of the frequency of one of the branches, which reflects the instability of the system with respect to the transition to an inhomogeneous state with increasing flexomagnetoelectric interaction and, second, the nonequivalence (nonreciprocity) of the propagation of spin waves along and against the antiferromagnetism vector, which coincides with the toroidal moment in this system.