{
  "abstract": "Carpy-Galy LaTaO$_4$ undergoes a structural sequence linking the antipolar monoclinic $P2_1/c$ ground state and the polar orthorhombic $Cmc2_1$ phase through an incommensurately modulated regime. First-principles calculations identify a metastable polar monoclinic $P2_1$ phase as a commensurate intermediate in the phase-transition landscape. As a common subgroup of $P2_1/c$ and $Cmc2_1$, $P2_1$ provides a symmetry-connected route between the established polymorphs. Mode-resolved energy surfaces for these symmetry-breaking pathways show that coupling between the respective primary order parameters and an isosymmetric relaxation stabilizes the $P2_1$ minimum along both pathways. Consequently, the $P2_1/c\\rightarrow P2_1$ transformation has a finite energy barrier, while a restricted soft-mode model retains competing $P2_1$ and $Cmc2_1$ basins over an illustrative range of harmonic stiffness. Lattice-metric and neutron-diffraction comparisons indicate a shared displacement character between the calculated commensurate state and the experimental IC-o modulation, supporting the use of $P2_1$ as a commensurate structural reference for IC-o. Finally, composition-dependent energetics suggest chemical routes for tuning polar-antipolar competition.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": "2609.06943",
  "author_total": 1,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "Yongjin Shin"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/b8jkcp7gmwkgz.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.48550/arxiv.2609.06943",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "b8jkcp7gmwkgz",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.06943",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "LicenseRef-arXiv-nonexclusive-1.0",
  "licence_label": "arXiv licence",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "http://arxiv.org/licenses/nonexclusive-distrib/1.0/",
  "metadata_licence": "CC0-1.0",
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "arxiv",
      "cond-mat.mtrl-sci"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2505|Ferroelectric and Piezoelectric Materials"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7212062696",
  "pdf_url": "https://arxiv.org/pdf/2609.06943",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-16",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/b8jkcp7gmwkgz.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:30:32Z",
      "native_id": "2609.06943",
      "source": "arxiv",
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.06943"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "physics",
      "origin": "arxiv:cond-mat.mtrl-sci",
      "subfield": "condensed-matter"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Metastable polar order and phase competition in Carpy-Galy LaTaO4",
  "title_text": "Metastable polar order and phase competition in Carpy-Galy LaTaO4",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:33:28Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/b8jkcp7gmwkgz",
  "venue": "arXiv",
  "versions": []
}