Mechanical loss in multiferroic materials at high frequencies: friction and the evolution of ferroelastic microstructures.

Energy absorption in multiferroic materials stems typically from strain relaxation which can be strong even when no extrinsic defects exist in the material. Computer simulations of a simple two-dimensional model on a generic, proper ferroelastic material identify the dissipative mechanisms associated with the dynamical motion as: a) advance and retraction of needle-shaped twin domains and, b) movement of kinks inside twin boundaries. Both movements involve friction losses.