Abstract

We proved the existence of a universal flexoantiferrodistortive coupling as a necessary complement to the well-known flexoelectric coupling. The coupling is universal for all antiferrodistortive systems and can lead to the formation of incommensurate, spatially modulated phases in multiferroics. Our analysis can provide a self-consistent mesoscopic explanation for a broad range of modulated domain structures observed experimentally in multiferroics.

Department(s)

Materials Science and Engineering

Comments

The work was supported in part (S.V.K., A.B.) by the U.S. Department of Energy, Basic Energy Sciences, Materials Sciences and Engineering Division, the National Science Foundation Grants No. DMR-1210588 and No. DMR-0820404 (V.G., L.Q.C., and Y.G.).

Keywords and Phrases

Europium; Phase transitions; Antiferromagnetism

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

1098-0121; 1550-235X

Document Type

Article - Journal

Document Version

Final Version

File Type

text

Language(s)

English

Rights

© 2013 American Physical Society (APS), All rights reserved.

Publication Date

01 Jan 2013

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