  Possible ferromagnetism induced in otherwise non-magnetic materials has been
motivating intense research in complex oxide heterostructures. Here we show
that a confined magnetism is realized at the interface between SrTiO3 and two
insulating polar oxides, BiMnO3 and LaAlO3. By using polarization dependent
x-ray absorption spectroscopy, we find that in both cases the magnetic order is
stabilized by a negative exchange interaction between the electrons transferred
to the interface and local magnetic moments. These local magnetic moments are
associated to Ti3+ ions at the interface itself for LaAlO3/SrTiO3 and to Mn3+
ions in the overlayer for BiMnO3/SrTiO3. In LaAlO3/SrTiO3 the induced magnetic
moments are quenched by annealing in oxygen, suggesting a decisive role of
oxygen vacancies in the stabilization of interfacial magnetism.
