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Magnetic structure evolution and phase transitions in materials with noncollinear spin textures

The long-wavelength magnetic structures stabilized by the antisymmetric Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction can exhibit robust phase coherence over macroscopic length scales due to symmetry protection by the underlying crystal lattice. By controlling external parameters such as magnetic/electric field and temperature, localized spin textures called magnetic solitons can emerge with stable, particle-like properties, and a high degree of tunability. Besides the strong fundamental interest in their topological properties, the weakly-pinned magnetic structures are ideal candidates for spintronics applications.
In this talk, I will present our recent studies on the magnetic phase evolution in selected crystalline magnetic materials with broken inversion symmetry that realize distinct solitonic spin textures of varying dimension and helicity. Specific focus will be given to the chiral soliton lattice in the monoaxial chiral helimagnet, Cr1/3NbS2, and the multiferroic Néel skyrmion lattice host, GaV4S8. A combination of static and time-dependent measurements are used to analyze how these robust magnetic structures stabilize, evolve, dynamically respond, and adhere to existing models. We use static critical exponents analysis, ac magnetic response, and magnetocaloric measurements to construct a comprehensive phase diagram for Cr1/3NbS2. We show that crossovers in the magnetic structure of the chiral soliton lattice are sensitively detected by nonlinear ac magnetic response. The insights gained are used to explore open questions about the magnetic phase evolution in GaV4S8, particularly the transformation of the spin cycloid as it approaches the ferromagnetic ground state.

 

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Eleanor Clements (University of South Florida)

Created March 25, 2019