Dresden 2026 – scientific programme
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MA: Fachverband Magnetismus
MA 7: Poster Magnetism I
MA 7.31: Poster
Monday, March 9, 2026, 09:30–12:30, P2
Ab initio approaches to the dynamical magnetoelectric effect — •Torsten Geirsson1, Davide Sangalli2, and Alejandro Molina-Sánchez1 — 1ICMUV, University of Valencia, Spain — 2ISM-CNR, Rome, Italy
The magnetoelectric (ME) tensor quantifies how an electric field induces magnetization and is key to understanding the coupling between electric and magnetic degrees of freedom. While most studies address the static ME response, its finite-frequency generalization reveals how electric fields drive magnetic excitations on ultrafast timescales. At optical frequencies, the ME effect can be resonantly enhanced by interband or excitonic transitions, giving rise to measurable nonreciprocal magneto-optical signals, as observed for Cr2O3.
We present a first-principles framework to compute the dynamical ME tensor in magnetic insulators, separating spin and orbital contributions and focusing on the electronic response. Approaches based on linear-response theory and real-time simulations are combined to access both equilibrium and transient ME dynamics. Using Cr2O3 as a prototypical example, we show how real-time propagation captures non-equilibrium ME effects induced by ultrafast electric-field pulses. Our work establishes a route for connecting ab initio ME response calculations with emerging ultrafast magneto-optical experiments.
Keywords: Dynamical magnetoelectric response; Ultrafast magneto-optics; First-principles simulations; Real-time electronic simulations; Cr2O3 antiferromagnet