No Arabic abstract
Ferroelectric properties in magnetic fields of varying magnitude and direction have been investigated for a triangular-lattice helimagnet CuFe1-xGaxO2 (x=0.035). The magnetoelectric phase diagrams were deduced for magnetic fields along [001], [110], and [1-10] direction, and the in-plane magnetic field was found to induce the rearrangement of six possible multiferroic domains. Upon every 60-degree rotation of in-plane magnetic field around the c-axis, unique 120-degree flop of electric polarization occurs as a result of the switch of helical magnetic q-vector. The chirality of spin helix is always conserved upon the q-flop. The possible origin is discussed in the light of the stable structure of multiferroic domain wall.
We report on a topological Hall effect possibly induced by scalar spin chirality in a quasi-two- dimensional helimagnet Fe$_{1+x}$Sb. In the low-temperature region where the spins on interstitial- Fe (concentration $x=0.3$) intervening the $120^circ$ spin-ordered triangular planes tend to freeze, a non-trivial component of Hall resistivity with opposite sign of the conventional anomalous Hall term is observed under magnetic field applied perpendicular to the triangular-lattice plane. The observed unconventional Hall effect is ascribed to the scalar spin chirality arising from the heptamer spin-clusters around the interstitial-Fe sites, which can be induced by the spin modulation by the Dzyaloshinsky-Moriya interaction.
Magnetic and dielectric properties with varying magnitude and direction of magnetic field H have been investigated for a triangular lattice helimagnet MnI2. The in-plane electric polarization P emerges in the proper screw magnetic ground state below 3.5 K, showing the rearrangement of six possible multiferroic domains as controlled by the in-plane H. With every 60-degree rotation of H around the [001]-axis, discontinuous 120-degree flop of P-vector is observed as a result of the flop of magnetic modulation vector q. With increasing the in-plane H above 3 T, however, the stable q-direction changes from q||<1-10> to q||<110>, leading to a change of P-flop patterns under rotating H. At the critical field region (~3 T), due to the phase competition and resultant enhanced q-flexibility, P-vector smoothly rotates clockwise twice while H-vector rotates counter-clockwise once.
A novel doubly chiral magnetic order is found out in the structurally chiral langasite compound Ba$_3$NbFe$_3$Si$_2$O$_{14}$. The magnetic moments are distributed over planar frustrated triangular lattices of triangle units. On each of these they form the same triangular configuration. This ferro-chiral arrangement is helically modulated from plane to plane. Unpolarized neutron scattering on a single crystal associated with spherical neutron polarimetry proved that a single triangular chirality together with a single helicity is stabilized in an enantiopure crystal. A mean field analysis allows discerning the relevance on this selection of a twist in the plane to plane supersuperexchange paths.
By means of neutron scattering measurements, we have investigated spin-wave excitation in a collinear four-sublattice (4SL) magnetic ground state of a triangular lattice antiferromagnet CuFeO2, which has been of recent interest as a strongly frustrated magnet, a spin-lattice coupled system and a multiferroic. To avoid mixing of spin-wave spectrum from magnetic domains having three different orientations reflecting trigonal symmetry of the crystal structure, we have applied uniaxial pressure on [1-10] direction of a single crystal CuFeO2. By elastic neutron scattering measurements, we have found that only 10 MPa of the uniaxial pressure results in almost single domain state in the 4SL phase. We have thus performed inelastic neutron scattering measurements using the single domain sample, and have identified two distinct spin- wave branches. The dispersion relation of the upper spin-wave branch cannot be explained by the previous theoretical model [R. S. Fishman: J. Appl. Phys. 103 (2008) 07B109]. This implies the importance of the lattice degree of freedom in the spin-wave excitation in this system, because the previous calculation neglected the effect of the spin-driven lattice distortion in the 4SL phase. We have also discussed relationship between the present results and the recently discovered electromagnon excitation.
The layered magnetic compound Ba_2CuGe_2O_7 exhibits spiral antiferromagnetic order thanks to a Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya (DM) anisotropy that is allowed by crystal symmetry. Here we theoretically examine some finer issues such as the experimentally observed lattice pinning of the propagation vector of helical magnetic domains. We find that DM anisotropy alone would lead to incorrect pinning, but agreement with experiment is restored upon including an additional exchange anisotropy that is also consistent with symmetry. The present results shed light on the so-called bisection rule which has been abstracted from experiment in presence of an in-plane magnetic field.