Coupling of magnetic and ferroelectric hysteresis by a multi-component magnetic structure in Mn2GeO4

Abstract

The olivine compound Mn2GeO4 is shown to feature both a ferroelectric polarization and a ferromagnetic magnetization that are directly coupled and point along the same direction. We show that a spin spiral generates ferroelectricity (FE), and a canted commensurate order leads to weak ferromagnetism (FM). Symmetry suggests that the direct coupling between the FM and FE is mediated by Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interactions that exist only in the ferroelectric phase, controlling both the sense of the spiral rotation and the canting of the commensurate structure. Our study demonstrates how multi-component magnetic structures found in magnetically-frustrated materials like Mn2GeO4 provide a new route towards functional materials that exhibit coupled FM and FE.

Supplementary material available on request, or at publisher website

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Cited by in corpus (10)

• Axion-matter coupling in multiferroics
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• Flat-band spin dynamics and phonon anomalies of the saw-tooth spin-chain system Fe${}_2$O(SeO${}_3$)${}_2$
• Nonlinear Magnetoelectric Effect under Magnetic Octupole Order: Its Application to a $d$-Wave Altermagnet and a Pyrochlore Lattice with All-In/All-Out Magnetic Order
• Domain switching and exchange bias control by electric field in multiferroic conical magnet Mn${}_2$GeO${}_4$
• Weak ferromagnetism linked to the high-temperature spiral phase of YBaCuFeO5
• Stress-induced magnetic domain selection reveals a conical ground state for the multiferroic phase of Mn2GeO4
• Multiple magnetic transitions and complex magnetic structures in Fe${}_2$SiSe${}_4$ with the sawtooth lattice
• Sawtooth lattice multiferroic BeCr${}_2$O${}_4$: Non-collinear magnetic structure and multiple magnetic transitions
• Electric-field-induced magnetic toroidal moment and nonlinear magnetoelectric effect in antiferromagnetic olivines