Professor Paolo G. Radaelli OSI

Abstract:

The structural and magnetic properties of the hexagonal four-layer form of SrMnO$_3$ have been investigated by combining magnetization measurements, electron diffraction and high-resolution synchrotron X-ray and neutron powder diffraction. Below 350K, there is subtle structural phase transition from hexagonal symmetry (space group $P6_3/mmc$) to orthorhombic symmetry (space group $C222_1$) where the hexagonal metric is preserved. The second-order phase transition involves a slight tilting of the corner-sharing Mn$_{2}$O$_{9}$ units composed of 2 face-sharing MnO$_6$ octahedra and the associated displacement of Sr$^{2+}$ cations. The phase transition is described in terms of symmetry-adapted displacement modes of the high symmetry phase. Upon further cooling, long range magnetic order with propagation vector $\mathbf{k}=(0,0,0)$ sets in below 300K. The antiferromagnetic structure, analyzed using representation theory, shows a considerably reduced magnetic moment indicating the crucial role played by direct exchange between Mn centers of the Mn$_{2}$O$_{9}$ units.

Abstract:

The symmetry conditions for the development of a macroscopic electrical polarization as a secondary order parameter to a magnetic ordering transition, and the constraints on the direction of the polarization vector, are determined by a non-conventional application of the theory of irreducible co-representations. In our approach, which is suitable for both magnetic and structural modulations, anti-unitary operators are employed to describe symmetry operations that exchange the propagation vector $\textbf{k}$ with $\textbf{-k}$, rather than operations combined with time-reversal as in classical \textit{corep} analysis. Unlike the conventional irreducible representations, co-representations can capture the full symmetry properties of the system even if the propagation vector is in the interior of the Brillouin zone. It is shown that ferroelectricity can develop even for a completely collinear structure, and that helical and cycloidal magnetic structures are not always polar. In some cases, symmetry allows the development of polarization parallel to the magnetic propagation vector. Our analysis also highlights the unique importance of magnetic commensurability, enabling one to derive the different symmetry properties of equivalent commensurate and incommensurate phases even for a completely generic propagation vector.