Large linear magnetoelectric effect induced by an external magnetic field in the collinear antiferromagnet DyCrO_4

摘要

A microscopic theory of the interaction of Cr spins with electric and magnetic fields in DyCrO_4 is described. The derived effective energy operator allows calculating the electric polarization vector using information about the magnetic structure. The calculated linear electric polarization in electric and magnetic fields at H < 3 T is consistent with the available experimental data. The electric field is induced by an odd crystalline field on chromium ions and the charge transfer process from the nearest oxygen ions. The enhancement of the magnetic field is associated with magnetic susceptibility, mainly due to dysprosium ions.