Electromagnon by chiral spin dynamics in the triangular lattice antiferromagnet

From high field electron spin resonance measurements in illuminating polarized light, we have revealed the existence of electromagnon, i.e., magnon excitation by oscillatory electric fields of light, in the field-induced 1/5-plateau phase of the triangular lattice antiferromagnet CuFeO2. We indicate that peculiar magnon modes, which generate uniform fluctuation of the vector spin chirality at wave vector k=0, appear in the magnetic ordered phase with a collinear spin structure on triangular lattice. Our experimental results demonstrate that such magnon modes couple with an electric component of light, leading to the emergence of the electromagnon. Moreover, the measurements in circularly polarized light exhibit an anomalous behavior that circular dichroism, which is usually found in magnetic resonance, is absent in the resonance signal of the electromagnon. The microscopic mechanism of the electromagnon in CuFeO2 is also discussed.