Modeling of Antiferromagnetic Dynamics: A Brief Review

This article briefly summarizes the basic principles of several theoretical models that are currently available for the description of antiferromagnetic dynamical response to external forces. The preference is given to simplified phenomenological treatments rather than the rigorous derivation of formalisms. In particular, the origin of ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic correlations between localized spin moments is examined qualitatively for the simplest models as an introduction to the more sophisticated treatments. An emphasis is placed on elucidating the physical principles underlying the different mechanisms for electrical manipulation of the antiferromagnetic vector. More specifically, the current-induced torques via the spin transfer and the spinorbital interaction are described in a phenomenological manner. In addition, two prospective mechanisms for currentless generation of the desired spin torque are considered as promising alternatives. Following the overall focus, some of the intricate details are not addressed as they are outside the scope of this article.