Composite quadrupole order in ferroic and multiferroic materials

Abstract

The formalism of composite and intertwined orders has been remarkably successful in discussing the complex phase diagrams of strongly correlated materials and high-$T_c$ superconductors. Here, we propose that composite orders are also realized in ferroelectric and ferromagnetic materials when lattice anisotropy is taken into account. This composite order emerges above the ferroic phase transition, and its type is determined by the easy axis of magnetization or polarization, respectively. In multiferroic materials, where polarization and magnetization are coupled, composites of both orders are possible. This formalism of composite orders naturally accounts for magnetoelectric monopole, toroidal, and quadrupole orders. More broadly, composite orders may explain precursor phenomena in incipient (multi)ferroic materials, arising at temperatures above the ferroic phase transition and potentially contributing to the characterization of currently hidden orders.