Emergent Topological Chirality in Ferroics

Abstract:

The past decade marked breakthrough discoveries of novel topological polarization structures in nanostructured ferroelectrics. The observed polarization structures have been interpreted in terms of the real-space vector field topology as multiple combinations of vortices, skyrmions, merons, and other topological formations, previously observed in magnetic systems. However, this visible analogy misses ferroelectricity's cornerstone, the dominant role of the long-range electrostatic forces. In this talk, we present a generic topological foundation of ferroelectricity arising from its electrostatic essence and discuss from this viewpoint the recent trends in the field. We review the observed polarization topological structures and show that their rich variety can be exhaustively described by the fundamental formations, vortices, and Hopfions. Remarkably, the emergence of the latter provides the chirality of the confined ferroelectric systems. We focus on insights into the topological origin of the chirality in the nanostructured ferroelectrics, bringing new controllable functionalities. We pay special attention to novel developments enabling tunability and manipulating the chiroptical response in ferroelectric nanoparticles and nanodots.

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