  The hyperfine interaction between the quadrupole moment of atomic nuclei and
the electric field gradient (EFG) provides information on the electronic charge
distribution close to a given atomic site. In ferroelectric materials, the loss
of inversion symmetry of the electronic charge distribution is necessary for
the appearance of the electric polarization. We present first-principles
density functional theory calculations of ferroelectrics such as BaTiO3, KNbO3,
PbTiO3 and other oxides with perovskite structures, by focusing on both EFG
tensors and polarization. We analyze the EFG tensor properties such as
orientation and correlation between components and their link with electric
polarization. This work supports previous studies of ferroelectric materials
where a relation between EFG tensors and polarization was observed, which may
be exploited to study ferroelectric order when standard techniques to measure
polarization are not easily applied.
