Bulk magnetoelectricity in the hexagonal manganites and ferrites

Improper ferroelectricity (trimerization) in the hexagonal manganites RMnO 3 leads to a network of coupled structural and magnetic vortices that induce domain wall magnetoelectricity and magnetization ( M ), neither of which, however, occurs in the bulk. Here we combine first-principles calculations...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature communications 2014-01, Vol.5 (1), p.2998-2998, Article 2998
Main Authors: Das, Hena, Wysocki, Aleksander L., Geng, Yanan, Wu, Weida, Fennie, Craig J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
639/301/119/2793
639/301/119/996
Crystal structure
Humanities and Social Sciences
multidisciplinary
Physics
Principles
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
Vortices
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Summary:Improper ferroelectricity (trimerization) in the hexagonal manganites RMnO 3 leads to a network of coupled structural and magnetic vortices that induce domain wall magnetoelectricity and magnetization ( M ), neither of which, however, occurs in the bulk. Here we combine first-principles calculations, group-theoretic techniques and microscopic spin models to show how the trimerization not only induces a polarization ( P ) but also a bulk M and bulk magnetoelectric (ME) effect. This results in the existence of a bulk linear ME vortex structure or a bulk ME coupling such that if P reverses so does M . To measure the predicted ME vortex, we suggest RMnO 3 under large magnetic field. We suggest a family of materials, the hexagonal RFeO 3 ferrites, also display the predicted phenomena in their ground state. Numerous unusual effects like topological defects and coupling of different ferroic orders go hand in hand with improper ferroelectricity. Using various theoretical methods, the authors show that improper ferroelectricity also induces a bulk magnetization and a bulk magnetoelectric effect.
ISSN:2041-1723
2041-1723
DOI:10.1038/ncomms3998