Direct Observation of Twisted Surface skyrmions in Bulk Crystals.
Phys Rev Lett
; 120(22): 227202, 2018 Jun 01.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-29906149
ABSTRACT
Magnetic skyrmions in noncentrosymmetric helimagnets with D_{n} symmetry are Bloch-type magnetization swirls with a helicity angle of ±90°. At the surface of helimagnetic thin films below a critical thickness, a twisted skyrmion state with an arbitrary helicity angle has been proposed; however, its direct experimental observation has remained elusive. Here, we show that circularly polarized resonant elastic x-ray scattering is able to unambiguously measure the helicity angle of surface skyrmions, providing direct experimental evidence that a twisted skyrmion surface state also exists in bulk systems. The exact surface helicity angles of twisted skyrmions for both left- and right-handed chiral bulk Cu_{2}OSeO_{3}, in the single as well as in the multidomain skyrmion lattice state, are determined, revealing their detailed internal structure. Our findings suggest that a skyrmion surface reconstruction is a universal phenomenon, stemming from the breaking of translational symmetry at the interface.
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Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Phys Rev Lett
Ano de publicação:
2018
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Reino Unido