Electronic and magnetic properties of multiferroic ScFeO3

TL;DR

This paper investigates the electronic and magnetic properties of multiferroic ScFeO3 using experimental and calculated structure factors, revealing complex magnetic motifs and the presence of Dirac multipoles like anapoles.

Contribution

It provides new insights into the magnetic structure of ScFeO3 by combining experimental diffraction data with calculations including Dirac multipoles.

Findings

Supports G-type antiferromagnetism in ScFeO3

Identifies the presence of Dirac multipoles such as anapoles

Suggests ferric ions are not in the high-spin 6S state

Abstract

Experimental techniques using Bragg diffraction may elucidate electronic and magnetic properties of ferric ions in multiferroic ScFeO3 that are puzzling. A collinear magnetic motif of dipole moments is not expected for s-state ions with an acentric parent (paramagnetic) structure, because single-site anisotropy is negligible and antisymmetric exchange interactions promote an inhomogeneous magnetic motif. However, current indications are that ScFeO3 supports G-type antiferromagnetism, with an unknown moment direction, which implies that ferric ions are not in the high-spin 6S state. It is argued that significant insight on these open questions can be achieved by confronting experimental data with calculated structure factors for resonant x-ray and magnetic neutron Bragg spots, and we report results for G-type antiferromagnetism allowed by the corundum-like parent R3c structure. Calculated structure factors include Dirac multipoles that are time-odd and parity-odd, e.g., dipoles that are often called anapoles or toroidal moments.