Magnetic field effects on the NiO magnon spectra

The effect of an external magnetic field on the eight antiferromagnetic resonance (AFMR) modes of NiO has been studied experimentally using Brillouin light scattering. The results are reproduced by a model that includes the effects of exchange, dipolar coupling, a small cubic anisotropy, and Zeeman terms. Magnetic fields up to 7 T were applied along several NiO crystalline directions. The agreement between theory and experiment provides additional proof that the model, recently introduced to explain the existence of the AFMR multiplet, is indeed valid. Deviations between simulations and experiments, together with a review of previously published results, indicate that large magnetostrictive effects are present in NiO.