This manuscript deals with the question "How does light couple to an antiferromagnetic order parameter"? For that we develop a microscopic model that explains the non-reciprocal optical effects in centrosymmetric Cr_2 O_3. It is shown that light can couple { \em directly} to the antiferromagnetic order parameter. This coupling is mediated by the spin-orbit interaction and involves an interplay between the breaking of inversion symmetry due to the antiferromagnetic order parameter and the trigonal field contribution to the ligand field at the Cr^{ 3+} ion.
Categories: cond-mat