Topological Defects in Hexagonal Manganites: Inner Structure and Emergent Electrostatics Megan E. Holtz Konstantin Shapovalov Julia A. Mundy Celesta S. Chang Zewu Yan Edith Bourret David A. Muller Dennis Meier Andrés Cano 10.1021/acs.nanolett.7b01288.s001 https://acs.figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Topological_Defects_in_Hexagonal_Manganites_Inner_Structure_and_Emergent_Electrostatics/5402413 Diverse topological defects arise in hexagonal manganites, such as ferroelectric vortices, as well as neutral and charged domain walls. The topological defects are intriguing because their low symmetry enables unusual couplings between structural, charge, and spin degrees of freedom, holding great potential for novel types of functional 2D and 1D systems. Despite the considerable advances in analyzing the different topological defects in hexagonal manganites, the understanding of their key intrinsic properties is still rather limited and disconnected. In particular, a rapidly increasing number of structural variants is reported without clarifying their relation, leading to a zoo of seemingly unrelated topological textures. Here, we combine picometer-precise scanning-transmission-electron microscopy with Landau theory modeling to clarify the inner structure of topological defects in Er<sub>1–<i>x</i></sub>Zr<sub><i>x</i></sub>MnO<sub>3</sub>. By performing a comprehensive parametrization of the inner atomic defect structure, we demonstrate that one primary length scale drives the morphology of both vortices and domain walls. Our findings lead to a unifying general picture of this type of structural topological defects. We further derive novel fundamental and universal properties, such as unusual bound-charge distributions and electrostatics at the ferroelectric vortex cores with emergent U(1) symmetry. 2017-09-05 00:00:00 topological defects Landau theory modeling 1 D systems Emergent Electrostatics Diverse topological defects length scale drives picometer-precise scanning-transmission-electron microscopy domain walls