Magnetic and electric properties of multiferroic LiFeP2O7. Comparison with LiCrP2O7
The temperature and magnetic field dependence of the magnetic and electric properties of LiFeP2O7 (LFPO) and LiCrP2O7 (LCPO) are studied using a microscopic model and the Green’s function technique. We have shown that LFPO is antiferromagnetic, but shows a weak ferromagnetism along the [Formula: see text] axis which originates from the canted antiferromagnetic order. For LCPO, such a ferromagnetic order along the [Formula: see text] axis is not observed. In the temperature dependence of the electrical polarization [Formula: see text] along the [Formula: see text] axis there is a kink at [Formula: see text] K which is an indirect evidence for the intrinsic magnetoelectric effect in LFPO. Applying an external magnetic field [Formula: see text], the polarization [Formula: see text] increases, stronger for small temperatures and the kink at [Formula: see text] disappears. For LCPO, we do not obtain a kink at [Formula: see text] K. LCPO is polar, but not ferroelectric. We can conclude that the missing magnetoelectric properties in LCPO could be due to the differences in the magnetic orders between LFPO and LCPO.