Theory of ferromagnetism in Ca(1-x)La(x)B(6)

Phys Rev Lett. 2002 Mar 25;88(12):126404. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.88.126404. Epub 2002 Mar 12.

Abstract

Novel ferromagnetism in Ca(1-x)La(x)B(6) is studied in terms of the Ginzburg-Landau theory for excitonic-order parameters, taking into account symmetry of the wave functions. We found that the minima of the free energy break both inversion and time-reversal symmetries, while the product of these two remains preserved. This explains various novelties of the ferromagnetism and predicts a number of magnetic properties, including the magnetoelectric effect, which can be tested experimentally.