Hexagonal RMnO₃: a model system for 2D triangular lattice antiferromagnets

The hexagonal RMnO$_3$ (h-RMnO$_3$) are multiferroic materials, which exhibit the coexistence of a magnetic order and ferroelectricity. Their distinction is in their geometry that both results in an unusual mechanism to break inversion symmetry, and also produces a 2D triangular lattice of Mn spins, which is subject to geometrical magnetic frustration due to the antiferromagnetic interactions between nearest neighbour Mn ions. This unique combination makes the h-RMnO$_3$ a model system to test ideas of spin-lattice coupling, particularly when the both the improper ferroelectricity and the Mn trimerisation that appears to determine the symmetry of the magnetic structure arise from the same structure distortion. In this review, we demonstrate how the use of both neutron and X-ray diffraction and inelastic neutron scattering techniques have been essential to paint this comprehensive and coherent picture of the h-RMnO$_3$.