Multiferroic behavior in trimerized Mott insulators

Abstract

We demonstrate multiferroic behavior in trimerized Mott insulators through interplay between spins and electric dipole moments resulting from electronic charge fluctuations in frustrated units. The model consists of stacked triangular layers of trimers with small intertrimer exchange interactions $J'$ and $J"$. Ferroelectric states coexist with ferro- or antiferromagnetic orderings depending on the value of the magnetic field $H$ and the sign of the interlayer exchange $J"$. The electric polarization undergoes abrupt changes as a function of $H$.

5 pages, 2 figures; published in Phys. Rev. Lett