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    Mechanical coupling of polar topologies and oxygen octahedra rotations in PbTiO3/SrTiO3 superlattices

    Fernando Gómez-Ortiz*, Louis Bastogne, Xu He, and Philippe Ghosez†

    • *Contact author: fgomez@uliege.be
    • †Contact author: Philippe.Ghosez@uliege.be

    Phys. Rev. B 113, 184107 – Published 6 May, 2026

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/rkkn-flsg

    Abstract

    PbTiO3/SrTiO3 artificial superlattices recently emerged as a prototypical platform for the emergence and study of polar topologies. While previous studies mainly focused on the polar textures inherent to the ferroelectric PbTiO3 layers, the oxygen octahedra rotations inherent to the paraelectric SrTiO3 layers have attracted little attention. Here, we highlight a biunivocal relationship between distinct polar topologies—including a1/a2 domains, polar vortices, and skyrmions—within the PbTiO3 layers and specific patterns of oxygen octahedra rotations in the SrTiO3 layers. This relationship arises from a coupling mediated by inhomogeneous strains between the two materials and is shown to be reciprocal. Through second-principles atomistic simulations, we demonstrate that each polar texture imposes a corresponding rotation pattern, while conversely, a frozen oxygen octahedra rotation dictates the emergence of the associated polar state. This confirms the strong coupling between oxygen octahedra rotations in SrTiO3 and polarization in PbTiO3, highlighting their cooperative role in stabilizing complex polar textures in related superlattices.

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