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Visualizing Uniaxial-strain Manipulation of Antiferromagnetic Domains in Fe1+YTe Using a Spin-polarized Scanning Tunneling Microscope
Published on: March 24, 2019
Orbital Multiferroicity in Two-Dimensional Triangular Lattice
Jiangyu Zhao1, Jiale Wang1, Yibo Liu1
1Shandong University, School of Physics, State Key Laboratory of Crystal Materials, Shandanan Street 27, Jinan 250100, China.
Abstract:
The search for multiferroicity in two-dimensional (2D) systems has predominantly focused on spin-driven mechanisms, leaving the distinct physics of coupled spin-orbital orders largely unexplored. Here, we propose a theoretical mechanism for orbital multiferroicity on 2D triangular lattices, arising from the intrinsic interplay between ferro-orbital and magnetic orders. Through symmetry analysis and effective model derivation, we reveal that the orbital order imposes a strong interaction on the magnetic sector, activating robust orbiton-magnon hybridization. Using density-functional theory calculations, we substantiate this mechanism in monolayer FeH_{2}, where cooperative orbital and spin interactions stabilize an antiferro-orbital antiferromagnetic ground state. Remarkably, mechanical strain efficiently tunes these interactions, enabling reversible phase transitions between the antiferro-orbital and ferro-orbital states. Crucially, the elementary excitation spectrum exhibits hybridization gaps, serving as a definitive fingerprint of the formed entangled magnon-orbiton modes. Our Letter thus establishes a novel paradigm for exploring orbital multiferroicity in 2D systems.
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