13,655 research outputs found
Symmetry, incommensurate magnetism and ferroelectricity: the case of the rare-earth manganites RMnO3
The complete irreducible co-representations of the paramagnetic space group
provide a simple and direct path to explore the symmetry restrictions of
magnetically driven ferroelectricity. The method consists of a straightforward
generalization of the method commonly used in the case of displacive modulated
systems and allows us to determine, in a simple manner, the full magnetic
symmetry of a given phase originated from a given magnetic order parameter. The
potential ferroic and magneto-electric properties of that phase can then be
established and the exact Landau free energy expansions can be derived from
general symmetry considerations. In this work, this method is applied to the
case of the orthorhombic rare-earth manganites RMnO3. This example will allow
us to stress some specific points, such as the differences between commensurate
or incommensurate magnetic phases regarding the ferroic and magnetoelectric
properties, the possible stabilization of ferroelectricity by a single
irreducible order parameter or the possible onset of a polarization oriented
parallel to the magnetic modulation. The specific example of TbMnO3 will be
considered in more detail, in order to characterize the role played by the
magneto-electric effect in the mechanism for the polarization rotation induced
by an external magnetic field.Comment: Conference: Aperiodic`0
Dissipative dynamics of spins in quantum dots
We present a theory for the dissipation of electronic spins trapped in
quantum dots due to their coupling to the host lattice acoustic phonon modes.
Based on the theory of dissipative two level systems for the spin dynamics, we
derive a relation between the spin dissipative bath, the electron confinement,
and the electron-phonon interaction. We find that there is an energy scale,
typically smaller than the electronic lateral confinement energy, which sets
the boundary between different dissipative regimes .Comment: 4 pages, 2 eps figure
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