Short range magnetic exchange interaction favors ferroelectricity

Multiferroics, where two or more ferroic order parameters coexist, is one of the hottest fields in condensed matter physics and materials science. To search multiferroics, currently most researches are focused on frustrated magnets, which usually have complicated magnetic structure and low magnetic ordering temperature. Here, we argue that actually simple interatomic magnetic exchange interaction already contains a driving force for ferroelectricity, thus providing a new microscopic mechanism for the coexistence and strong coupling between ferroelectricity and magnetism. We demonstrate this mechanism by showing that even the simplest antiferromagnetic insulator like MnO, could display a magnetically induced ferroelectricity under a biaxial strain. In addition, we show that such mechanism also exists in the most important single phase multiferroics, i.e. BiFeO 3, suggesting that this mechanism is ubiquitous in systems with superexchange interaction.