Theory of spin-orbit enhanced electric-field control of magnetism in multiferroic BiFeO$_3$

ORAL

Abstract

We present a microscopic theory that shows the importance of spin-orbit coupling in multiferroic compounds with heavy ions. In BiFeO$_3$ (BFO) the spin-orbit coupling at the bismuth ion sites results in a special kind of magnetic anisotropy that is linear in the applied $E$-field. We show how this interaction is capable of disrupting the magnetic cycloid state of bulk BFO, leading to a remarkable level of $E$-field control of magnetism. R. de Sousa, M. Allen, and M. Cazayous, arXiv:1209.6612.

*Our research was supported by the NSERC Discovery program.

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Authors

  • Rogerio de Sousa

    • Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Victoria, BC, Canada

  • Marc Allen

    • Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Victoria, BC, Canada

  • Maximilien Cazayous

    • Laboratoire Materiaux et Phenomenes Quantiques, Universite Paris Diderot-Paris 7, France
    • Universite Paris Diderot, Laboratoire Materiaux et Ph\'enom\`enes Quantiques, Paris, France
    • Laboratoire Materiaux et Phenomenes Quantiques, Univ. Paris Diderot (France)