Search for the magnetic monopole at a magnetoelectric surface

Abstract

We show, by solving Maxwell's equations, that an electric charge on the surface of a slab of a linear magnetoelectric material generates an image magnetic monopole below the surface provided that the magnetoelectric has a diagonal component in its magnetoelectric response. The image monopole, in turn, generates an ideal monopolar magnetic field outside of the slab. Using realistic values of the electric- and magnetic- field susceptibilties, we calculate the magnitude of the effect for the prototypical magnetoelectric material Cr${}_2$O${}_3$. We use low energy muon spin rotation to measure the strength of the magnetic field generated by charged muons as a function of their distance from the surface of a Cr${}_2$O${}_3$ films, and show that the results are consistent with the existence of the monopole. We discuss other possible routes to detecting the monopolar field, and show that, while the predicted monopolar field generated by Cr${}_2$O${}_3$ is above the detection limit for standard magnetic force microscopy, detection of the field using this technique is prevented by surface charging effects.

8 pages, 9 figures

References in corpus (13)

• Topological Field Theory of Time-Reversal Invariant Insulators
• Magnetic Monopoles in Spin Ice
• Seeing the magnetic monopole through the mirror of topological surface states
• Dirac Strings and Magnetic Monopoles in Spin Ice Dy2Ti2O7
• Chern-Simons orbital magnetoelectric coupling in generic insulators
• Microscopic theory of temperature-dependent magnetoelectric effect in Cr2O3
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• Canonical magnetic insulators with isotropic magnetoelectric coupling
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• Low-energy magnetoelectric control of domain states in exchange-coupled heterostructures
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Cited by in corpus (12)

• Nanomagnetism of magnetoelectric granular thin-film antiferromagnets
• Distinct magnetotransport and orbital fingerprints of chiral bobbers
• Observation of a charge-neutral muon-polaron complex in antiferromagnetic Cr${}_2$O${}_3$
• Spin-orbital-momentum locking under odd-parity magnetic quadrupole ordering
• Electromagnetic fields induced by an electric charge near a Weyl semimetal
• Time-reversal switching responses in antiferromagnets
• Magnetoelectric effect of a conducting sphere near a planar topological insulator
• Magnetic monopoles and toroidal moments in LuFeO${}_3$ and related compounds
• Linear magnetoelectricity in the Zintl phase pnictides (Ba, Ca, Sr)${\mathrm{Mn}}_2{(\mathrm{P},\mathrm{As},\mathrm{Sb})}_2$ from first principles calculations
• Defect QED: Dielectric without a Dielectric, Monopole without a Monopole
• A Two-Gauge Field Model for Magnetoelectric Boundaries
• The magnetoelectric effect due to a semispherical capacitor surrounded by a spherical topologically insulating shell