The competing interactions in multiferroics and their possible implications for HTSs

Multiferroics exhibit multiple competing interactions and display concurrently various ground states, e.g. the coexistence of magnetism and ferroelectricity. Studies by us and others show that ferroelectricity in multiferroics can be induced by magnetism, pressure or an external magnetic field. It has also been shown recently that superconductivity can coexist with ferromagnetism and magnetic field can induce superconductivity. This raises the question if superconductivity can evolve from ferroelectricity directly or indirectly through magnetism. Since multiferroics belong to the class of highly correlated electron material systems which posses transition temperatures up to above room temperature, it is conjecture that it may not be impossible to achieve superconductivity with a very high T _c by optimizing the various interactions present.