First-principles demonstration of Roman surface topological multiferroicity

TL;DR

This paper uses first-principles calculations to demonstrate Roman surface topological multiferroicity in a specific material, confirming its unique polarization topology and proposing an alternative material with enhanced polarization for better detection.

Contribution

It provides the first theoretical demonstration of Roman surface topological multiferroicity and suggests a new material with improved polarization properties.

Findings

Confirmed Roman surface topology of polarization via density functional theory

Proposed an alternative material with stronger magnetism-induced polarization

Validated the topological nature of multiferroicity in the studied compound

Abstract

The concept of topology has been widely applied to condensed matter, going beyond the band crossover in reciprocal spaces. A recent breakthrough suggested unconventional topological physics in a quadruple perovskite TbMn$_3$Cr$_4$O$_{12}$, whose magnetism-induced polarization manifests a unique Roman surface topology [Nat. Commun. \textbf{13}, 2373 (2022)]. However, the available experimental evidence based on tiny polarizations of polycrystalline samples is far from sufficient. Here, this topological multiferroicity is demonstrated by using density functional theory calculations, which ideally confirms the Roman surface trajectory of magnetism-induced polarization. In addition, an alternative material in this category is proposed to systematically enhance the performance, by promoting its magnetism-induced polarization to an easily detectable level.