The origin of the colossal magnetodielectric effect in DyMn2O5 [1] has been an outstanding question in multiferroics. Here, we report the activation of the electric dipole mode at 4-5 cm-1 in an applied magnetic field which fully accounts for the CMD
effect. We examine two alternative explanations of this mode: an electromagnon and transitions between f-electron levels of Dy3+ ions. The experimental and theoretical evidence supports the electromagnon origin of the CMD effect.
The origin of electromagnon excitations in cycloidal textit{R}MnO$_3$ is explained in terms of the Heisenberg coupling between spins despite the fact that the static polarization arises from the much weaker Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya (DM) exchange interac
tion. We present a model that incorporates structural characteristics of this family of manganites that is confirmed by far infrared transmission data as a function of temperature and magnetic field and inelastic neutron scattering results. A deep connection is found between the magnetoelectric dynamics of the spiral phase and the static magnetoelectric coupling in the collinear E-phase of this family of manganites.
