Thermal stability and irreversibility of skyrmion-lattice phases in Cu2OSeO3
| Autor: | Taku J. Sato, Daisuke Okuyama, Koya Makino, Daiki Higashi, Shinichiro Seki, Norman Booth, Yoshinori Tokura, Elliot P. Gilbert, Johannes D. Reim, Yusuke Nambu |
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| Rok vydání: | 2017 |
| Předmět: |
Materials science
Spin glass Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el) Condensed matter physics Skyrmion FOS: Physical sciences 02 engineering and technology 021001 nanoscience & nanotechnology 01 natural sciences Small-angle neutron scattering Magnetic field Condensed Matter - Strongly Correlated Electrons Paramagnetism Lattice (order) 0103 physical sciences Thermal stability Chemical stability 010306 general physics 0210 nano-technology |
| Zdroj: | Physical Review B. 95 |
| ISSN: | 2469-9969 2469-9950 |
| DOI: | 10.1103/physrevb.95.134412 |
| Popis: | Small angle neutron scattering measurements have been performed to study the thermodynamic stability of skyrmion-lattice phases in Cu$_2$OSeO$_3$. We found that the two distinct skyrmion-lattice phases [SkX(1) and SkX(2) phases] can be stabilized through different thermal histories; by cooling from the paramagnetic phase under finite magnetic field, the SkX(2) phase is selected. On the other hand, the 30$^{\circ}$-rotated SkX(1) phase becomes dominant by heating the sample from the ordered conical phase under finite field. This difference in stabilization is surprisingly similar to the irreversibility observed in spin glasses. The zero-field cooling results in the co-existence of the two phases. It is further found that once one of the skyrmion-lattice phases is formed, it is hardly destabilized. This indicates unusual thermal stability of the two skyrmion-lattice phases originating from an unexpectedly large energy barrier between them. 9 pages, 10 figures |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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