2008/08/16 by P. G. Radaelli, C. Vecchini, L. C. Chapon +4 · 1 citation
Materials Science · Physics and Astronomy · #Ferroelectric and Piezoelectric Materials #Magnetic and transport properties of perovskites and related materials #Multiferroics and related materials #cond-mat.mtrl-sci #cond-mat.str-el
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevb.79.020404
arxiv created 2008/08/16 · openalex publication_date 2009/01/16 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
We have determined the magnetic structure of the low-temperature incommensurate phase of multiferroic YMn2O5 using single-crystal neutron diffraction. By employing corepresentation analysis, we have ensured full compliance with both symmetry and physical constraints, so that the electrical polarization must lie along the b axis, as observed. The evolution of the spin components and propagation through the commensurate-incommensurate phase boundary identifies the exchange-striction mechanism as the primary driving force for ferroelectricity.