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Center for Nonlinear Studies |
Controlling the electrical properties of materials by manipulating their spin structure is a key feature in the field of magnetism research and applications. Skyrmions and the Chiral Soliton lattice are unusual spin textures found in inversion symmetry broken magnets, and are of particular interest due to the stability granted by their topology. In this talk, I will present the magnetotransport properties of two systems with such non-trivial spin textures. In the isotropic cubic helimagnets MnSi and Fe-doped MnSi, a pronounced topological Hall effect emerges, and is a direct result of the gauge field generated by the Skyrmion lattice. Yet, the magnetic anisotropy is clearly observed at the boundary of the Skyrmion lattice phase via strong magnetic field angle dependence of the transport properties. On the other hand, in the highly anisotropic helimagnet Cr1/3NbS2, a Heisenberg spin model with Dyzaloshinkii-Moriya interactions and magnetocrystalline anisotropy successfully captures the complex spin structure and shows excellent agreement with magnetization measurements. However, the unusual dependence of magnetoresistance on spin orientation (i.e. parallel or perpendicular to the helix direction) is attributed to a change of the electronic structure caused by spin-orbit coupling, rather than to a purely spin-related mechanism.
Host: Charles Reichhardt