Simulating Terahertz Field-Induced Ferroelectricity in Quantum Paraelectric SrTiO3
Journal article, 2022
Recent experiments have demonstrated that light can induce a transition from the quantum paraelectric to the ferroelectric phase of SrTiO3. Here, we investigate this terahertz field-induced ferroelectric phase transition by solving the time-dependent lattice Schrödinger equation based on first-principles calculations. We find that ferroelectricity originates from a light-induced mixing between ground and first excited lattice states in the quantum paraelectric phase. In agreement with the experimental findings, our study shows that the nonoscillatory second harmonic generation signal can be evidence of ferroelectricity in SrTiO3. We reveal the microscopic details of this exotic phase transition and highlight that this phenomenon is a unique behavior of the quantum paraelectric phase.
Author
Dongbin Shin
Max Planck Society
Simone Latini
Max Planck Society
Christian Schäfer
Max Planck Society
Chalmers, Microtechnology and Nanoscience (MC2), Applied Quantum Physics
Shunsuke A. Sato
University of Tsukuba
Max Planck Society
Edoardo Baldini
The University of Texas at Austin
Umberto De Giovannini
University of Palermo
Max Planck Society
Hannes Hübener
Max Planck Society
Angel Rubio
University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU)
Flatiron Institute
Max Planck Society
Physical Review Letters
0031-9007 (ISSN) 1079-7114 (eISSN)
Vol. 129 16 167401Kvantplasmonik – en teknologi för foton-fotonväxelverkan på kvantnivå vid rumstemperatur
Swedish Research Council (VR) (2016-06059), 2017-01-01 -- 2022-12-31.
Subject Categories
Atom and Molecular Physics and Optics
Other Physics Topics
Condensed Matter Physics
DOI
10.1103/PhysRevLett.129.167401
PubMed
36306771