Optical control of ferroaxial order

Materials that exhibit ferroaxial order hold potential for novel multiferroic applications. However, in pure ferroaxials, domains are not directly coupled to stress or static electric field due to their symmetry, limiting the ability to pole and switch between domains—features required for real-worl...

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Main Authors: Zhiren He, Guru Khalsa
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: American Physical Society 2024-12-01
Series:Physical Review Research
Online Access:http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevResearch.6.043220
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author Zhiren He
Guru Khalsa
author_facet Zhiren He
Guru Khalsa
author_sort Zhiren He
collection DOAJ
description Materials that exhibit ferroaxial order hold potential for novel multiferroic applications. However, in pure ferroaxials, domains are not directly coupled to stress or static electric field due to their symmetry, limiting the ability to pole and switch between domains—features required for real-world applications. Here we propose a general approach to selectively condense and switch between ferroaxial domains with light. We show that circularly polarized light pulses on resonance with infrared-active phonons manifest helicity-dependent control over ferroaxial domains. Nonlinear contributions to the lattice polarizability play an essential role in this phenomenon. We illustrate the feasibility of our approach using first-principles calculations and dynamical simulations for the archetypal ferroaxial material RbFe(MoO_{4})_{2}. Our results are discussed in the context of future pump-probe optical experiments, where polarization, carrier frequency, and fluence threshold are explored.
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institution Kabale University
issn 2643-1564
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publishDate 2024-12-01
publisher American Physical Society
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series Physical Review Research
spelling doaj-art-6ca46fa0e66d44e4818a3b5f3ddcc1062024-12-02T15:17:43ZengAmerican Physical SocietyPhysical Review Research2643-15642024-12-016404322010.1103/PhysRevResearch.6.043220Optical control of ferroaxial orderZhiren HeGuru KhalsaMaterials that exhibit ferroaxial order hold potential for novel multiferroic applications. However, in pure ferroaxials, domains are not directly coupled to stress or static electric field due to their symmetry, limiting the ability to pole and switch between domains—features required for real-world applications. Here we propose a general approach to selectively condense and switch between ferroaxial domains with light. We show that circularly polarized light pulses on resonance with infrared-active phonons manifest helicity-dependent control over ferroaxial domains. Nonlinear contributions to the lattice polarizability play an essential role in this phenomenon. We illustrate the feasibility of our approach using first-principles calculations and dynamical simulations for the archetypal ferroaxial material RbFe(MoO_{4})_{2}. Our results are discussed in the context of future pump-probe optical experiments, where polarization, carrier frequency, and fluence threshold are explored.http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevResearch.6.043220
spellingShingle Zhiren He
Guru Khalsa
Optical control of ferroaxial order
Physical Review Research
title Optical control of ferroaxial order
title_full Optical control of ferroaxial order
title_fullStr Optical control of ferroaxial order
title_full_unstemmed Optical control of ferroaxial order
title_short Optical control of ferroaxial order
title_sort optical control of ferroaxial order
url http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevResearch.6.043220
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AT gurukhalsa opticalcontrolofferroaxialorder