Natural SciencesMaterials SciencePhysicsCondensed Matter PhysicsMagnetic MaterialsSolid State PhysicsCrystal LatticeFerromagnetic MaterialsMagnetic Properties Of SolidsMagnetism In SolidsTopological MaterialsTopological Phases Of MatterBloch StatesFrustrated MagnetismHall EffectMagnetic SkyrmionsResonant ScatteringSkyrmionsSpin FrustrationStrongly Correlated Systems
Geometrically frustrated magnets can host complex spin textures, and theory predicts that frustration may stabilize topologically nontrivial skyrmions, although experimentally skyrmions have mainly been observed in noncentrosymmetric lattices or heterostructures. The study reports the emergence of a Bloch‑type skyrmion state in the frustrated centrosymmetric triangular‑lattice magnet Gd₂PdSi₃. A field‑induced skyrmion phase was detected through a giant topological Hall effect and confirmed by resonant x‑ray scattering, demonstrating that magnetic frustration in a centrosymmetric triangular lattice can generate topological spin textures with emergent electrodynamics.
Geometrically frustrated magnets provide abundant opportunities for discovering complex spin textures, which sometimes yield unconventional electromagnetic responses in correlated electron systems. It is theoretically predicted that magnetic frustration may also promote a topologically nontrivial spin state, i.e., magnetic skyrmions, which are nanometric spin vortices. Empirically, however, skyrmions are essentially concomitant with noncentrosymmetric lattice structures or interfacial-symmetry-breaking heterostructures. Here, we report the emergence of a Bloch-type skyrmion state in the frustrated centrosymmetric triangular-lattice magnet Gd2PdSi3. We identified the field-induced skyrmion phase via a giant topological Hall response, which is further corroborated by the observation of in-plane spin modulation probed by resonant x-ray scattering. Our results exemplify a new gold mine of magnetic frustration for producing topological spin textures endowed with emergent electrodynamics in centrosymmetric magnets.
37
Anisotropic Superexchange Interaction and Weak Ferromagnetism
Tôru Moriya · Physical Review · 1960 · 7.2K citations · Full text
Skyrmion Lattice in a Chiral Magnet
S. Mühlbauer, B. Binz, Florian Jonietz et al. · Science · 2009 · 4.8K citations · Full text
Naoto Nagaosa, Jairo Sinova, Shigeki Onoda et al. · Reviews of Modern Physics · 2010 · 4.6K citations · Full text
Multiferroics: a magnetic twist for ferroelectricity
Sang‐Wook Cheong, Maxim Mostovoy · Nature Materials · 2007 · 4.6K citations · Full text