On the physics of multiferroics

Joseph Betouras

University of St. Andrews, Physics & Astronomy, St. Andrews, UK

There is intensive recent interest in the physics of materials that exhibit both magnetic and ferroelectric ordering. More importantly when these phenomena are coupled and ferroelectricity can be induced by suitable magnetic structures. We present the symmetry arguments that can reveal the conditions under which this is possible. Moreover we discuss recently discovered examples of materials with multiferroic behavior at low temperatures which might be in the regime of quantum criticality.

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