Spin Dynamics in the Skyrmion-Host Lacunar Spinel GaV4S8

Published

December 20, 2021

Author(s)

G. Pokharel, H. Arachchige, S. Gao, S.-H. Do, R. Fishman, G. Ehlers, Yiming Qiu, Jose Rodriguez Rivera, M. B. Stone, H. Zhang, Stephen Wilson, D. Mandrus, A. Christianson

Abstract

In the lacunar spinel GaV₄S₈, the interplay of spin, charge, and orbital degrees of freedom produces a rich phase diagram that includes an unusual Neel-type skyrmion phase composed of molecular spins. To provide ´ insight into the interactions underlying this complex phase diagram, we study the spin excitations in GaV₄S₈ through inelastic neutron scattering measurements on polycrystalline and single crystal samples. Using linear spin wave theory, we describe the spin wave excitations using a model where V₄ clusters decorate an FCC lattice. The effective cluster model includes a ferromagnetic interaction and a weaker antisymmetric Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya (DM) interaction between the neighboring molecular spins. Our work clarifies the spin interactions in GaV₄S₈ and supports the picture of interacting molecular clusters

Citation

Physical Review B

Volume

104

Issue

22

Pub Type

Journals

Keywords

skyrmion, lacunar spinel, spin Hamiltonian, inelastic neutron scattering

Citation

Pokharel, G. , Arachchige, H. , Gao, S. , Do, S. , Fishman, R. , Ehlers, G. , Qiu, Y. , Rodriguez Rivera, J. , Stone, M. , Zhang, H. , Wilson, S. , Mandrus, D. and Christianson, A. (2021), Spin Dynamics in the Skyrmion-Host Lacunar Spinel GaV₄S₈, Physical Review B (Accessed October 27, 2025)