Natural optical activity and its control by electric field in electrotoroidic systems

Abstract

We propose the existence, via analytical derivations, novel phenomenologies, and first-principles-based simulations, of a new class of materials that are not only spontaneously optically active, but also for which the sense of rotation can be switched by an electric field applied to them-- via an induced transition between the dextrorotatory and laevorotatory forms. Such systems possess electric vortices that are coupled to a spontaneous electrical polarization. Furthermore, our atomistic simulations provide a deep microscopic insight into, and understanding of, this class of naturally optically active materials.

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References in corpus (3)

• Geometric frustration in compositionally modulated ferroelectrics
• Band theory of spatial dispersion in magnetoelectrics
• Prediction of the Magnetotoroidic Effect from Atomistic Simulations

Cited by in corpus (5)

• Atomic Imaging of Mechanically Induced Topological Transition of Ferroelectric Vortices
• First-principles theory of spatial dispersion: Dynamical quadrupoles and flexoelectricity
• Recent Progress in the thermodynamics of ferrotoroidic materials
• Generalized Pitaevskii relation between rectifying and linear responses: its application to reciprocal magnetization induction
• Energy storage properties of ferroelectric nanocomposites