Antiferromagnetic Resonance and Terahertz Continuum in α-RuCl_{3}.

ABSTRACT

We report measurements of optical absorption in the zigzag antiferromagnet α-RuCl_{3} as a function of temperature T, magnetic field B, and photon energy ℏω in the range ∼0.3-8.3 meV, using time-domain terahertz spectroscopy. Polarized measurements show that threefold rotational symmetry is broken in the honeycomb plane from 2 to 300 K. We find a sharp absorption peak at 2.56 meV upon cooling below the Néel temperature of 7 K at B=0 that we identify as the magnetic-dipole excitation of a zero-wave-vector magnon, or antiferromagnetic resonance (AFMR). With the application of B, the AFMR broadens and shifts to a lower frequency as long-range magnetic order is lost in a manner consistent with transitioning to a spin-disordered phase. From a direct, internally calibrated measurement of the AFMR spectral weight, we place an upper bound on the contribution to the dc susceptibility from a magnetic excitation continuum.