Improper electric polarization in simple perovskite oxides with two magnetic sublattices

ABO3 perovskite oxides with magnetic A and B cations offer a unique playground to explore interactions involving two spin sublattices and the emergent effects they may drive. Of particular interest is the possibility of having magnetically driven improper ferroelectricity, as in the much studied families of rare-earth orthoferrites and orthochromites; yet, the mechanisms behind such effects remain to be understood in detail. Here we show that the strongest polar order corresponds to collinear spin configurations and is driven by non-relativistic exchange-strictive mechanisms. Our first-principles simulations reveal the dominant magnetostructural couplings underlying the observed ferroelectricity, including a striking magnetically driven piezoelectric effect. Further, we derive phenomenological and atomistic theories that describe such couplings in a generic perovskite lattice. This allows us to predict how the observed effects can be enhanced, and even how similar ones can be obtained in other perovskite families.