Ferroelectric polarization flop in a frustrated magnet MnWO4 induced by a magnetic field.

The relationship between magnetic order and ferroelectric properties has been investigated for MnWO4 with a long-wavelength magnetic structure. Spontaneous electric polarization is observed in an elliptical spiral spin phase. The magnetic-field dependence of electric polarization indicates that the noncollinear spin configuration plays a key role for the appearance of the ferroelectric phase. An electric polarization flop from the b direction to the a direction has been observed when a magnetic field above 10 T is applied along the b axis. This result demonstrates that an electric polarization flop can be induced by a magnetic field in a simple system without rare-earth 4f moments.