Highly controllable switching pathways in multiferroic GdMn$_2$O$_5$
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Preprint |
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2026
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| _version_ | 1866912927408193536 |
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| author | Ryzhkov, M. Granero, A. Wettstein, J. Pimenov, Anna Wang, X. Ponet, L. Cheong, S. -W. Mostovoy, M. Pimenov, Andrei Artyukhin, S. |
| author_facet | Ryzhkov, M. Granero, A. Wettstein, J. Pimenov, Anna Wang, X. Ponet, L. Cheong, S. -W. Mostovoy, M. Pimenov, Andrei Artyukhin, S. |
| contents | Controlling magnetic moments using electric fields remains a central challenge in spintronics. Multiferroics, where magnetic and electric orders coexist, may be a natural platform for such control, but progress has been limited because interactions between these orders are typically too weak to overcome the energy barriers between magnetic states. A recently demonstrated topologically protected switching circumvents this limitation by exploiting reduced barriers at a phase transition. Nevertheless, the conditions enabling this phenomenon remain elusive and electric field control is poorly understood. Here, we experimentally map the energy landscape by tracking transitions in GdMn$_2$O$_5$ under combined electric and magnetic fields. The experiments reveal that the switching pathways can be controlled by the electric field. A minimal theoretical model captures the observed behavior, identifies the parameter space where switching paths are sensitive to small perturbations and reveals design principles for implementing topological switching in other materials. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2602_02939 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Highly controllable switching pathways in multiferroic GdMn$_2$O$_5$ Ryzhkov, M. Granero, A. Wettstein, J. Pimenov, Anna Wang, X. Ponet, L. Cheong, S. -W. Mostovoy, M. Pimenov, Andrei Artyukhin, S. Materials Science Controlling magnetic moments using electric fields remains a central challenge in spintronics. Multiferroics, where magnetic and electric orders coexist, may be a natural platform for such control, but progress has been limited because interactions between these orders are typically too weak to overcome the energy barriers between magnetic states. A recently demonstrated topologically protected switching circumvents this limitation by exploiting reduced barriers at a phase transition. Nevertheless, the conditions enabling this phenomenon remain elusive and electric field control is poorly understood. Here, we experimentally map the energy landscape by tracking transitions in GdMn$_2$O$_5$ under combined electric and magnetic fields. The experiments reveal that the switching pathways can be controlled by the electric field. A minimal theoretical model captures the observed behavior, identifies the parameter space where switching paths are sensitive to small perturbations and reveals design principles for implementing topological switching in other materials. |
| title | Highly controllable switching pathways in multiferroic GdMn$_2$O$_5$ |
| topic | Materials Science |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.02939 |