Order-disorder type critical behaviour at the magnetoelectric phase transition in multiferroic DyMnO₃

We present the results of detailed dielectric investigations of the relaxation dynamics in DyMnO$_3$ multiferroic manganite. Strong low-frequency relaxation process near the paraelectric-ferroelectric phase transition is observed. The high frequency mode is directly to the relaxational motion of multiferroic domain walls. We provide an experimental evidence that this relaxation mode corresponds to a chirality switching of the spin cycloid in DyMnO$_3$. We demonstrate that the relaxation dynamics in DyMnO$_3$ is typical for an order-disorder phase transition and may be understood within a simple model with a double well potential. DyMnO$_3$ follows an order-disorder transition scenario implicating that a short range cycloidal order of Mn-spins exists above $T_C$. These results suggest the interpretation of the paraelectric sinusoidal phase in manganites as a dynamical equilibrium of magnetic cycloids with opposite chiralities.