Finite-Momentum Antiferromagnetic Magnon Dynamics across the Morin Transition in Hematite

Abstract

Hematite ($\alpha$-Fe${}_2$O${}_3$) is a prototypical antiferromagnetic platform for high-speed spintronics and magnonics, yet its finite-momentum magnon dynamics and spin-reorientation mechanism remain incompletely understood. Here we use low-wavenumber magneto-Raman spectroscopy to resolve both $k=0$ and finite-$k$ sub-terahertz magnons in $\alpha$-Fe${}_2$O${}_3$ across the Morin transition. We find that the limiting group velocity $v_0$ remains nearly field independent, whereas the finite-$k$ group velocity $v_{\mathrm{g}}$ is strongly modified near the Morin and spin-flop transitions. By combining parallel- and transverse-field measurements with spin-wave modeling, we further extract the temperature-dependent Dzyaloshinskii--Moriya field $H_{\mathrm{D}}$ and uniaxial anisotropy fields $H_{K1}$ and $H_{K2}$. We find that $H_{\mathrm{D}}$ is weakly temperature dependent at approximately 2.0--2.3~T, while $H_{K1}$ decreases rapidly and $H_{K2}$ changes only weakly. This contrast drives the sign reversal of the effective anisotropy field and quantitatively accounts for the Morin transition. Our results establish low-wavenumber Raman spectroscopy as a quantitative probe of finite-momentum antiferromagnetic magnons and provide key material parameters for hematite-based magnonics.