Polarization Switching Ability Dependent on Multidomain Topology in a Uniaxial Organic Ferroelectric

The switching of electric polarization induced by electric fields -a fundamental functionality of ferroelectrics- is closely associated with the motions of the domain walls that separate regions with distinct polarization directions. Therefore, understanding domain-walls dynamics is of essential importance for advancing ferroelectric applications. In this Letter, we show that the topology of the multidomain structure can have an intrinsic impact on the degree of switchable polarization. Using a combination of polarization hysteresis measurements and piezoresponse force microscopy on a uniaxial organic ferroelectric, alpha-6,6-dimethyl-2,2-bipyridinium chloranilate, we found that the head-to-head (or tail-to-tail) charged domain walls are strongly pinned and thus impede the switching process; in contrast, if the charged domain walls are replaced with electrically neutral antiparallel domain walls, bulk polarization switching is achieved. Our findings suggest that manipulation of the multidomain topology can potentially control the switchable polarization.

Ab initio electronic structure calculation of hollandite vanadate K$_2$V$_8$O$_{16}$

An textit{ab initio} electronic structure calculation based on the generalized gradient approximation in the density functional theory is carried out to study the basic electronic states of hollandite vanadate K$_2$V$_8$O$_{16}$. We find that the states near the Fermi energy consist predominantly of the three $t_{2g}$-orbital components and the hybridization with oxygen $2p$ orbitals is small. The $d_{yz}$ and $d_{zx}$ orbitals are exactly degenerate and are lifted from the $d_{xy}$ orbital. The calculated band dispersion and Fermi surface indicate that the system is not purely one-dimensional but the coupling between the VO double chains is important. Comparison with available experimental data suggests the importance of electron correlations in this system.

Antiferromagnetism versus Kondo screening in the two-dimensional periodic Anderson model at half filling: Variational cluster approach

The variational cluster approach (VCA) based on the self-energy functional theory is applied to the two-dimensional symmetric periodic Anderson model at half filling. We calculate a variety of physical quantities including the staggered moments and single-particle spectra at zero temperature to show that the symmetry breaking due to antiferromagnetic ordering occurs in the strong coupling region, whereas in the weak coupling region, the Kondo insulating state without symmetry breaking is realized. The critical interaction strength is estimated. We thus demonstrate that the phase transition due to competition between antiferromagnetism and Kondo screening in the model can be described quantitatively by VCA.

Theoretical study of the electronic states of hollandite vanadate K$_2$V$_8$O$_{16}$

We consider electronic properties of hollandite vanadate K$_2$V$_8$O$_{16}$, a one-dimensional zigzag-chain system of $t_{2g}$ orbitals in a mixed valent state. We first calculate the Madelung energy and obtain the relative stability of several charge-ordering patterns to determine the most stable one that is consistent with the observed superlattice structure. We then develop the strong-coupling perturbation theory to derive the effective spin-orbit Hamiltonian, starting from the triply-degenerate $t_{2g}$ orbitals in the VO$_6$ octahedral structure. We apply an exact-diagonalization technique on small clusters of this Hamiltonian and obtain the orbital-ordering pattern and spin structures in the ground state. We thereby discuss the electronic and magnetic properties of K$_2$V$_8$O$_{16}$ including predictions on the outcome of future experimental studies.