Magnetic Transitions of Multiferroic Frustrated Magnets Revealed by Resonant Soft X-ray Magnetic Scattering

Abstract

The coexistence of magnetism and ferroelectricity with cross coupling, termed multiferroicity, rarely occurs. The discovery of gigantic magnetoelectric coupling in frustrated magnets has revived interest in their multiferroic behavior. Here, we review the measurements of resonant soft-X-ray magnetic scattering in the multiferroic frustrated magnets TbMn(2)O(5), LiCu(2)O(2), and CoCr(2)O(4). In addition to the experimental technique used, the evolution of the wave vector of magnetic ordering about the temperature of multiferroic transitions is discussed. We proffer scattering evidence of multiferroicity and a pathway for understanding the intricate coupling between magnetism and ferroelectricity in magnets with spin spirals. Our results also reveal the low-dimension nature of a quantum spin-chain multiferroics and the evolution of the interrelation between the polarization P, the magnetization M, and the spiral wave vector Q.