Electronic and magneto-optical properties of rare-earth orthoferrites RFeO3 (R = Y, Sm, Eu, Gd and Lu)

Orthorhombic rare-earth orthoferrites are studied using density-functional theory. The electronic, optical and magneto-optical properties are investigated in both ferromagnetic (FM) and anti-ferromagnetic (AFM) phases. Our calculations show that the antiferromagnetic phase is energetically favorable. The calculated complex Kerr rotation Of YFeO3 is in good agreement with the experimental data. Our calculations yield a value of the magneto-optical Kerr angle between -0.4 to 0.4 degrees. To see the resemblance between the complex Kerr rotation and complex optical conductivity, we also have calculated the diagonal and the off-diagonal components of the optical-conductivity tensor.