Phononic manipulation of antiferromagnetic domains in NiO

The interaction between the crystal lattice and spins appears to be a very efficient mechanism for non-thermal manipulation of magnetic order. A particularly intriguing question is whether lattice vibrations can also be used to control or even switch domains in collinear antiferromagnets, where all other mechanisms fail. To answer this question, here we study the magnetic effects induced by tunable and narrow-band infrared optical pulses in single crystals of antiferromagnetic nickel oxide. Our measurements reveal that a resonant excitation in the vicinity of the frequency of longitudinal optical phonons leads to the displacement of antiferromagnetic domains in NiO, potentially revealing a promising method to manipulate antiferromagnetic order.