Non-trivial Spin Structure Research Articles

Strain-controlled switching of magnetic skyrmioniums in ultrathin nanodisks

Magnetic skyrmions and skyrmioniums have garnered significant attention due to their distinctive topologically nontrivial spin structures. Gaining a deep understanding of the magnetization dynamics of these structures and their interconversion processes is essential for fully leveraging their potential in magnetic storage technology. Here, the dynamics of strain-controlled generation and annihilation of skyrmions and skyrmioniums are investigated using phase field simulation methods. It is discovered that tensile strain can induce the transformation of a single domain into skyrmions and skyrmioniums, which can still exist stably after the strain is released. Notably, skyrmioniums demonstrate robust stability within a specific strain window of −0.2% to 0.5%. Beyond this, escalating the compressive strain magnitude induces a phase transition from skyrmioniums to skyrmions, culminating in a direct collapse to a single-domain state at a critical compressive strain of −0.8%. This study reveals that strain can effectively control a variety of topological magnetic domain structures and achieve their interconversion, providing guidance for the design of low-power, nonvolatile, multi-state spin storage devices.

Observation of Néel-type magnetic skyrmion in a layered non-centrosymmetric itinerant ferromagnet CrTe1.38

Magnetic skyrmions are nanoscale vortex-like magnetization textures that hold great promise for next-generation memory and spintronic devices. While extensive research has focused on discovering such localized spin textures in bulk magnets and multilayers with heavy metals, there is a growing interest in finding them in two-dimensional (2D) magnetic materials. In this research work, we report two distinct phases of the 2D CrxTey family: non-centrosymmetric CrTe1.38 and centrosymmetric CrTe0.96, with a Curie temperature of around 200 and 300 K, respectively. Detailed magnetic study indicates a prominent out-of-plane magnetic anisotropy in CrTe1.38. In contrast, CrTe0.96 exhibits a weak uniaxial magnetic anisotropy. Lorentz transmission electron microscopy shows that the spontaneous ferromagnetic ground state of CrTe1.38 consists of Néel skyrmions, whereas CrTe0.96 exhibits Bloch domain walls, consistent with their crystalline symmetries. This research expands the quasi-2D CrxTey family and opens up new avenues for exploring non-trivial spin structures and their potential applications in spintronic devices.

Spectral Convergence of the Dirac Operator on Typical Hyperbolic Surfaces of High Genus

AbstractIn this article, we study the Dirac spectrum of typical hyperbolic surfaces of finite area, equipped with a nontrivial spin structure (so that the Dirac spectrum is discrete). For random Weil–Petersson surfaces of large genus g with $$o(\sqrt{g})$$ o ( g ) cusps, we prove convergence of the spectral density to the spectral density of the hyperbolic plane, with quantitative error estimates. This result implies upper bounds on spectral counting functions and multiplicities, as well as a uniform Weyl law, true for typical hyperbolic surfaces equipped with any nontrivial spin structure.

Metamagnetic multiband Hall effect in Ising antiferromagnet ErGa2

Frustrated rare-earth-based intermetallics provide a promising platform for emergent magnetotransport properties through exchange coupling between conduction electrons and localized rare-earth magnetic moments. Metamagnetism, the abrupt change of magnetization under an external magnetic field, is a signature of first-order magnetic phase transitions; recently, metamagnetic transitions in frustrated rare earth intermetallics have attracted interest for their accompanying nontrivial spin structures (e.g., skyrmions) and associated nonlinear and topological Hall effects (THE). Here, we present metamagnetism-induced Hall anomalies in single-crystalline ErGa2, which recalls features arising from the THE but wherein the strong Ising-type anisotropy of Er moments prohibits noncoplanar spin structures. We show that the observed anomalies are neither due to anomalous Hall effect nor THE; instead, can be accounted for via 4f-5d interactions which produce a band-dependent mobility modulation. This leads to a pronounced multiband Hall response across the magnetization process-a metamagnetic multiband Hall effect that resembles a topological-Hall-like response but without nontrivial origins. The present findings may be of general relevance in itinerant metamagnetic systems regardless of coplanar/noncoplanar nature of spins and are important for the accurate identification of Hall signals due to emergent magnetic fields.

Topological Hall Effect in (Mn1−xFex)3.25Ge (x = 0.4) Hexagonal Magnet

Topologically protected nontrivial spin structures attract significant interest in condensed matter physics for their utilization in low‐power‐consumption spintronics devices, memory devices, etc. The topological Hall effect (THE) is an additional Hall resistivity in the system arising from real‐space Berry curvature picked up by conduction electron passing through the nontrivial spin texture. Compared to expensive neutron diffraction measurements, THE is often used as a cost‐effective tool to investigate nontrivial spin texture in the materials. In the present manuscript, THE in the (Mn1−xFex)3.25Ge (x = 0.4) alloy is studied using magneto‐transport measurements. Maximum THE is found in the system about 0.65 μΩ cm at 150 K, which is in contrast to the pristine Mn3Ge that has zero THE. The strong temperature variation of THE suggests that the noncoplanar spin structure due to competition among the magneto‐crystalline anisotropy, antiferromagnetic coupling, and ferromagnetic exchange interaction is the main source of THE in the present system. Herein, it is shown that chemical doping can be an effective way to induce THE in the material with vanishing THE in its parent phase.

Interplay between Magnetism and Topology: Large Topological Hall Effect in an Antiferromagnetic Topological Insulator, EuCuAs.

Magnetic interactions in combination with nontrivial band structures can give rise to several exotic physical properties such as a large anomalous Hall effect, the anomalous Nernst effect, and the topological Hall effect (THE). Antiferromagnetic (AFM) materials exhibit the THE due to the presence of nontrivial spin structures. EuCuAs crystallizes in a hexagonal structure with an AFM ground state (Néel temperature ∼ 16 K). In this work, we observe a large topological Hall resistivity of ∼7.4 μΩ-cm at 13 K which is significantly higher than the giant topological Hall effect of Gd2PdSi3 (∼3 μΩ-cm). Neutron diffraction experiments reveal that the spins form a transverse conical structure during the metamagnetic transition, resulting in the large THE. In addition, by controlling the magnetic ordering structure of EuCuAs with an external magnetic field, several fascinating topological states such as Dirac and Weyl semimetals have been revealed. These results suggest the possibility of spintronic devices based on antiferromagnets with tailored noncoplanar spin configurations.

Single crystal growths and magnetic properties of hexagonal polar semimetals RAuGe (R = Y, Gd–Tm, and Lu)

We study structural and magnetic properties of rare-earth based semimetals RAuGe (R = Y, Gd–Tm, and Lu) using flux-grown single crystals. These compounds belong to the space group P63mc, which is associated with the noncentrosymmetric polar point group 6mm. We confirm the systematic structural evolution at room temperature as a function of ionic radius of rare earths to clarify the isopointal crossover between two polar structures: three-dimensional LiGaGe-type and quasi-two-dimensional NdPtSb-type. Magnetism shows a characteristic anisotropy in reasonable agreement with the crystal electric field (CEF) theory; the easy-plane-type anisotropy for R = Tb and Dy turns into the Ising-type anisotropy for R = Er and Tm. We evaluate the CEF parameters based on the Stevens operators to reasonably reproduce the temperature dependence of magnetic susceptibilities and specific heat for RAuGe (R = Tb–Tm). The estimated energy scale of the Ising gap (∼ 11 meV) in TmAuGe is consistent with an excitation observed in an inelastic neutron scattering experiment. These findings suggest an opportunity for interplay between conduction electrons and nontrivial spin structures in the family of magnetic polar semimetals RAuGe.

Magnetic and geometric control of spin textures in the itinerant kagome magnet Fe3Sn2

Magnetic materials with competing magnetocrystalline anisotropy and dipolar energies can develop a wide range of domain patterns, including classical stripe domains, domain branching, and topologically trivial and nontrivial (skyrmionic) bubbles. We image the magnetic domain pattern of ${\mathrm{Fe}}_{3}{\mathrm{Sn}}_{2}$ by magnetic force microscopy and study its evolution due to geometrical confinement, magnetic fields, and their combination. In ${\mathrm{Fe}}_{3}{\mathrm{Sn}}_{2}$ lamellae thinner than 3 $\ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{m}$, we observe stripe domains whose size scales with the square root of the lamella thickness, exhibiting classical Kittel scaling. Magnetic fields turn these stripes into a highly disordered bubble lattice. Complementary micromagnetic simulations quantitatively capture the magnetic field and thickness dependence of the magnetic patterns, reveal strong reconstructions of the patterns between the surface and the core of the lamellae, and identify the observed bubbles as skyrmionic bubbles. Our results imply that geometrical confinement together with competing magnetic interactions can provide a path to fine-tune and stabilize different types of topologically trivial and nontrivial spin structures in centrosymmetric magnets.

Giant Topological Hall Effect in the Noncollinear Phase of Two-Dimensional Antiferromagnetic Topological Insulator MnBi4Te7.

Magnetic topological insulators provide an important platform for realizing several exotic quantum phenomena, such as the axion insulating state and the quantum anomalous Hall effect, owing to the interplay between topology and magnetism. MnBi4Te7 is a two-dimensional Z2 antiferromagnetic (AFM) topological insulator with a Néel temperature of ∼13 K. In AFM materials, the topological Hall effect (THE) is observed owing to the existence of nontrivial spin structures. A material with noncollinearity that develops in the AFM phase rather than at the onset of the AFM order is particularly important. In this study, we observed that such an unanticipated THE starts to develop in a MnBi4Te7 single crystal when the magnetic field is rotated away from the easy axis (c-axis) of the system. Furthermore, the THE resistivity reaches a giant value of ∼7 μΩ-cm at 2 K when the angle between the magnetic field and the c-axis is 75°. This value is significantly higher than the values for previously reported systems with noncoplanar structures. The THE can be ascribed to the noncoplanar spin structure resulting from the canted state during the spin-flip transition in the ground AFM state of MnBi4Te7. The large THE at a relatively low applied field makes the MnBi4Te7 system a potential candidate for spintronic applications.

Angular dependence of Hall effect and magnetoresistance in SrRuO3−SrIrO3 heterostructures

Perovskite SrRuO$_3$ is a prototypical itinerant ferromagnet which allows interface engineering of its electronic and magnetic properties. We report synthesis and investigation of atomically flat artificial multilayers of SrRuO$_3$ with the spin-orbit semimetal SrIrO$_3$ in combination with band-structure calculations with a Hubbard $U$ term and topological analysis. They reveal an electronic reconstruction and emergence of flat Ru-4d$_{xz}$ bands near the interface, ferromagnetic interlayer coupling and negative Berry-curvature contribution to the anomalous Hall effect. We analyze the Hall effect and magnetoresistance measurements as a function of the field angle from out of plane towards in-plane orientation (either parallel or perpendicular to the current direction) by a two-channel model. The magnetic easy direction is tilted by about $20^\circ$ from the sample normal for low magnetic fields, rotating towards the out-of-plane direction by increasing fields. Fully strained epitaxial growth enables a strong anisotropy of magnetoresistance. An additional Hall effect contribution, not accounted for by the two-channel model is compatible with stable skyrmions only up to a critical angle of roughly $45^\circ$ from the sample normal. Within about $20^\circ$ from the thin film plane an additional peak-like contribution to the Hall effect suggests the formation of a non-trivial spin structure.

Large topological Hall effect near room temperature in noncollinear ferromagnet LaMn2Ge2 single crystal

Non-trivial spin structures in itinerant magnets can give rise to topological Hall effect (THE) due to the interacting local magnetic moments and conductive electrons. While, in series of materials, THE has mostly been observed at low temperatures far below room temperature (RT) limiting its potential applications. Here, we report the anisotropic anomalous Hall effect (AHE) near RT in LaMn2Ge2, a noncollinear ferromagnetic (FM) with Curie temperature TC=325 K. Large topological Hall resistivity of ~1.0 10-6 ohmcm in broad temperature range (190 K <T< 300 K) is realized as field (H) parallel to the ab-plane (H // ab) and current along c axis (I // c), in contrast to the conventional AHE for H // c and I // ab. The emergence of THE is attributed to the spin chirality of noncoplanar spin configurations stabilized by thermal fluctuation during spin flop process. Moreover, the constructed temperature-field (H-T) phase diagrams based on the isothermal topological Hall resistivity reveal a field-induced transition from the noncoplanar spin configuration to polarized ferromagnetic states. Our experimental realization of large THE near RT highlights LaMn2Ge2 as a promising system for functional applications in novel spintronic devices.

Properties and dynamics of meron topological spin textures in the two-dimensional magnet CrCl3

Merons are nontrivial topological spin textures highly relevant for many phenomena in solid state physics. Despite their importance, direct observation of such vortex quasiparticles is scarce and has been limited to a few complex materials. Here, we show the emergence of merons and antimerons in recently discovered two-dimensional (2D) CrCl3 at zero magnetic field. We show their entire evolution from pair creation, their diffusion over metastable domain walls, and collision leading to large magnetic monodomains. Both quasiparticles are stabilized spontaneously during cooling at regions where in-plane magnetic frustration takes place. Their dynamics is determined by the interplay between the strong in-plane dipolar interactions and the weak out-of-plane magnetic anisotropy stabilising a vortex core within a radius of 8–10 nm. Our results push the boundary to what is currently known about non-trivial spin structures in 2D magnets and open exciting opportunities to control magnetic domains via topological quasiparticles.

Pressure-induced collapse of large-moment magnetic order and localized-to-itinerant electronic transition in the host-guest compound [Cs6Cl][Fe24Se26]

The magnetic properties of iron chalcogenides and pnictides have found much interest as magnetic fluctuations are suggested to drive the formation of Cooper pairs in iron-based superconductors. Here, we have studied the pressure dependence of the magnetic and electrical properties of the iron-selenide compound $[\mathrm{C}{\mathrm{s}}_{6}\mathrm{Cl}][\mathrm{F}{\mathrm{e}}_{24}\mathrm{S}{\mathrm{e}}_{26}]$ by energy-domain synchrotron M\ossbauer spectroscopy up to 17 GPa and by resistivity measurements up to 45 GPa. Similar to the binary superconductor $\mathrm{F}{\mathrm{e}}_{1+x}\mathrm{Se}$, the host-guest-type crystal structure of $[\mathrm{C}{\mathrm{s}}_{6}\mathrm{Cl}][\mathrm{F}{\mathrm{e}}_{24}\mathrm{S}{\mathrm{e}}_{26}]$ contains edge-sharing $\mathrm{FeS}{\mathrm{e}}_{4}$ units, but its ground state is antiferromagnetically ordered. A complex hyperfine pattern suggests a nontrivial spin structure like a spin spiral with large magnetic moments in the range 2 to $3\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}{\ensuremath{\mu}}_{\mathrm{B}}$ at ambient pressure. High pressure drastically suppresses the N\'eel temperature from 220 K at ambient pressure to below 30 K at 12 GPa. Between 5 and 10 GPa the complex magnetic hyperfine pattern collapses and a low-moment magnetic ground state emerges at higher pressures. A concomitant decrease of the resistivity by several orders of magnitude indicates that the electronic system becomes more itinerant. Full metallization occurs near 25 GPa, but no sign of superconductivity down to 1.5 K was found at any pressure. It is suggested that the insulating ground state of $[\mathrm{C}{\mathrm{s}}_{6}\mathrm{Cl}][\mathrm{F}{\mathrm{e}}_{24}\mathrm{S}{\mathrm{e}}_{26}]$ corresponds to an orbitally selective Mott phase, which due to an increased bandwidth, is transformed into a Hund's metal state under pressure.

Large anomalous Hall effect in L12-ordered antiferromagnetic Mn3Ir thin films

Antiferromagnets having negligible net magnetization but a topologically nontrivial spin structure are a good testbed for investigating the intrinsic anomalous Hall effect (AHE). In this Letter, we explore L12-ordered Mn3Ir thin films, which are one of the noncollinear antiferromagnets predicted to exhibit the intrinsic AHE due to their topologically nontrivial spin structure. The anomalous Hall conductivity as large as σAHE = 40 Ω−1 cm−1 was observed at R.T. This value can be translated to the anomalous Hall conductivity per net magnetization M as |σAHE/M| = 0.6 V−1, which is much larger compared to those for general ferromagnetic materials. We also show that σAHE depends on the crystallinity of Mn3Ir as well as the chemical order parameter S characterizing a content of the L12 phase. Our results experimentally verify that L12-ordered Mn3Ir thin films exhibit the topologically originated AHE.

An Artificial Skyrmion Platform with Robust Tunability in Synthetic Antiferromagnetic Multilayers

AbstractMagnetic skyrmions are topologically nontrivial spin structures, and their existence in ferromagnetically coupled multilayers has been widely reported with a disordered arrangement. Here, a nucleation scenario of ordered skyrmions in nanostructured synthetic antiferromagnetic (SAF) multilayers is proposed and experimentally demonstrated using direct magnetization imaging, indirect magnetometer and magnetoresistance measurement, and micromagnetic simulation. Instead of relying on Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction, the antiferromagnetic interlayer exchange coupling in the SAF multilayers fulfills the role of nucleation and stabilization of skyrmions. The robustness of the proposed skyrmion nucleation scenario is examined against temperature from 4.5 to 300 K and device size from 400 to 1200 nm. Interestingly, these synthetic skyrmions still behave well with a size less than 100 nm. The higher stability than generic magnetic domains can be attributed to topological protection. The results thus provide an artificial skyrmion platform to meet the functional needs of high density and designable arrangement in magnonic and spintronic applications.

Measuring fermionic entanglement: Entropy, negativity, and spin structure

The recent direct experimental measurement of quantum entanglement paves the way towards a better understanding of many-body quantum systems and their correlations. Nevertheless, the experimental and theoretical advances had so far been predominantly limited to bosonic systems. Here, we study fermionic systems. Using experimental setups where multiple copies of the same state are prepared, arbitrary order Renyi entanglement entropies and entanglement negativities can be extracted by utilizing spatially-uniform beam splitters and on-site occupation measurement. As an example, we simulate the use of our protocols for measuring the entanglement growth following a local quench. We also illustrate how our paradigm could be used for experimental quantum simulations of fermions on manifolds with nontrivial spin structures.

Observation of the topological Hall effect and signature of room-temperature antiskyrmions in Mn-Ni-Ga D2d Heusler magnets

Topologically stable nontrivial spin structures, such as skyrmions and antiskyrmions, display a large topological Hall effect owing to their quantized topological charge. Here, we present the finding of a large topological Hall effect beyond room temperature in the tetragonal phase of a Mn-Ni-Ga based ferrimagnetic Heusler shape memory alloy system. The origin of the field induced topological phase, which is also evidenced by the appearance of dips in the ac-susceptibility measurements, is attributed to the presence of magnetic antiskyrmions driven by D2d symmetry of the inverse Heusler tetragonal phase. Detailed micromagnetic simulations asserts that the antiskyrmionic phase is stabilized as a result of interplay among inhomogeneous Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction, the Heisenberg exchange, and the magnetic anisotropy energy. The robustness of the present result is demonstrated by stabilizing the antiskyrmion hosting tetragonal phase up to a temperature as high as 550 K by marginally varying the chemical composition, thereby driving us a step closer to the realization of ferrimagnetic antiskyrmion based racetrack memory.

Enhanced skyrmion stability due to exchange frustration

Skyrmions are localized, topologically non-trivial spin structures which have raised high hopes for future spintronic applications. A key issue is skyrmion stability with respect to annihilation into the ferromagnetic state. Energy barriers for this collapse have been calculated taking only nearest neighbor exchange interactions into account. Here, we demonstrate that exchange frustration can greatly enhance skyrmion stability. We focus on the prototypical film system Pd/Fe/Ir(111) and use an atomistic spin model parametrized from first-principles calculations. We show that energy barriers and critical fields of skyrmion collapse as well as skyrmion lifetimes are drastically enhanced due to frustrated exchange and that antiskyrmions are metastable. In contrast an effective nearest-neighbor exchange model can only account for equilibrium properties of skyrmions such as their magnetic field dependent profile or the zero temperature phase diagram. Our work shows that frustration of long range exchange interactions – a typical feature in itinerant electron magnets – is a route towards enhanced skyrmion stability even in systems with a ferromagnetic ground state.

Spin effects in edge transport in two-dimensional topological insulators

Investigations of topological insulators, which are two- and three-dimensional systems with a gap in the bulk spectrum and topologically protected gapless edge states, are of considerable fundamental interest at present. The experiments confirming the presence of the edge states in two-dimensional systems with inverted bands and problems of determining the nature of such states in these experiments are reviewed. Special attention is focused on spin-sensitive experiments since the topological edge states have a nontrivial spin structure.

Nontrivial spin structure of graphene on Pt(111) at the Fermi level due to spin-dependent hybridization

The electronic and spin structure of a graphene monolayer synthesized on Pt(111) has been investigated experimentally by angle- and spin-resolved photoemission with different polarizations of incident synchrotron radiation and using density functional theory calculations. It is shown that despite the observed total quasifreestanding character of the dispersion of the graphene $\ensuremath{\pi}$ state remarkable local distortions and breaks in the dispersions take place due to hybridization between the graphene $\ensuremath{\pi}$ and Pt $d$ states. Corresponding spin-dependent avoided-crossing effects lead to significant modification of the spin structure and cause an enhanced induced spin-orbit splitting of the graphene $\ensuremath{\pi}$ states near the Fermi level in the region of the $\overline{\mathrm{K}}$ point of the graphene Brillouin zone (BZ) with a magnitude of 80--200 meV depending on the direction in the BZ. Using $p$, $s$, and elliptical polarizations of the synchrotron radiation, the contributions of the graphene $\ensuremath{\pi}$ and Pt $d$ states were separated and their intersection at the Fermi level, which is important for effective spin injection between these states, was shown. Moreover, analysis of the data allows us to conclude that in the region of the Dirac point the spin structure of the system cannot be described by a Rashba splitting, and even a spin-orbit gap between lower and upper Dirac cones is observed.