2010/07/31 by F. Schrettle, S. Krohns, P. Lunkenheimer +3
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Materials Science · Physics and Astronomy · #Charge (physics) #Charge ordering #Chemical physics #Condensed matter physics #Dielectric #Ferroelectricity #Geophysical and Geoelectrical Methods #Magnetic Properties and Synthesis of Ferrites #Magnetite #Materials science #Multiferroics and related materials #Optoelectronics #Order (exchange) #Physics #Polar #Quantum mechanics #Quantum tunnelling #Range (aeronautics) #cond-mat.str-el
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevb.83.195109
published as Phys. Rev. B 83, 195109 (2011) · 16 pages, 4 figures, final version with revisions according to referee demands
openalex publication_date 2011/05/06 · arxiv created 2011/06/09 · arxiv updated 2011/06/10 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
A thorough investigation of single-crystalline magnetite using broadband dielectric spectroscopy and other methods provides evidence for relaxorlike polar order in Fe3O4. We find long-range ferroelectric order to be impeded by the continuous freezing of polar degrees of freedom and the formation of a tunneling-dominated glasslike state at low temperatures. This also explains the lack of clear evidence for a noncentrosymmetric crystal structure below the Verwey transition. Within the framework of recent models assuming an intimate relation of charge and polar order, the charge order, too, can be speculated to be of short-range type only and to be dominated by tunneling at low temperatures.