Effect of inversion symmetry on the incommensurate order in multiferroic RMn2O5 (R=rare earth)

A. B. Harris, M. Kenzelmann, Amnon Aharony, and O. Entin-Wohlman
Phys. Rev. B 78, 014407 – Published 3 July 2008

Abstract

Starting from the irreducible representations of the group of the wave vector, we construct the spin-wave functions consistent with inversion symmetry, neglected in the usual representation analysis. We obtain the relation between the basis functions of different members of the star of the wave vector. We introduce order parameters and determine their transformation properties under the operations of the space group of the paramagnetic crystal. The results are applied to construct terms in the magnetoelectric interaction, which are quadratic and quartic in the magnetic order parameters. The higher-order magnetoelectric interactions can in principle induce components of the spontaneous polarization, which are not allowed by the lowest-order magnetoelectric interaction. We also obtain the relation between the spin-wave functions of the incommensurate phase and those of the commensurate phase, which lead to analogous relations between the order parameters of these two phases.

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  • Received 10 April 2008

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.78.014407

©2008 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

A. B. Harris1, M. Kenzelmann2, Amnon Aharony3, and O. Entin-Wohlman3

  • 1Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA
  • 2Laboratory for Solid State Physics, ETH Zurich, CH-8093 Zurich, Switzerland and Laboratory for Neutron Scattering, ETH & PSI, CH-5232 Villigen PSI, Switzerland
  • 3Department of Physics and the Ilse Katz Center for Meso- and Nano-Scale Science and Technology, Ben Gurion University, Beer Sheva 84105, Israel

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Issue

Vol. 78, Iss. 1 — 1 July 2008

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