Multiferroic compounds are widely studied for their magnetoelectric coupling, enabling polarization, for example, to be manipulated using a magnetic field. A new manifestation of magnetoelectric coupling has just been discovered in the multiferroic compound GdMn2O5. This study shows that it is possible to induce a new electronic state after applying a magnetic field and then switching it off. As for the magnetic order, it does indeed return to its initial state, as shown by neutron scattering.
Publication: Electronic ground-state hysteresis under magnetic field in GdMn2O5, V. Balédent et al., Physical Review B 108 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.108.104419