Manifestation of structural Higgs and Goldstone modes in the hexagonal manganites
Quintin N. Meier, A. Stucky, J. Teyssier, Sinéad M. Griffin, D. van der Marel, Nicola A. Spaldin
Abstract
Spontaneous breaking of a continuous symmetry described by a Mexican hat potential is relevant in many areas of physics, from magnetism to particle physics. Its effects manifest in the excitation spectrum as the emergence of Higgs and Goldstone modes, which are the amplitude and phase fluctuations of the order parameter. Here, the authors show, using density functional and Landau theories and Raman spectroscopy, that phonons at the crystallographic phase transition in the multiferroic hexagonal manganites provide a manifestation of Higgs and Goldstone excitations.
Topics & Concepts
Higgs bosonPhononCondensed matter physicsPhysicsPhase transitionGoldstone bosonContinuous symmetrySymmetry breakingQuantum mechanicsMagnetic and transport properties of perovskites and related materialsElectronic and Structural Properties of OxidesPhysics of Superconductivity and Magnetism