Spectroscopic-imaging STM measurement of magnetic skyrmions in a centrosymmetric crystal

ORAL

Abstract

The magnetic skyrmion, vortex-like magnetic swirling structure, has attracted attention as a topological quasi-particle. The Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction originating from broken inversion symmetry in the crystal structure is considered to be the key to stabilize the skyrmion. However, a mechanism to stabilize magnetic skyrmions even in centrosymmetric crystals has been proposed [1, 2]. For such centrosymmetric systems, experiments to show how the itenerant electrons interact with the magnetic structure are highly desired for further understanding.
We performed spectroscopic-imaging scanning tunneling microscopy (SI-STM) measurements for a centrosymmetric crystal GdRu2Si2, which is expected to host magnetic skyrmions. As a result, we found that the density of states near the Fermi energy (0.1 eV) varies in different magnetic phases including the skyrmion phase. Besides, we also observed periodic modulation in the electronic states with the same period as the magnetic skyrmion.
In the presentation, we will discuss a possible skyrmion formation mediated by itenerant electrons.
[1] S. Hayami, R. Ozawa, and Y. Motome, Phys. Rev. B 95, 224424 (2017).
[2] R. Ozawa, S. Hayami, and Y. Motome, Phys. Rev. Lett. 118, 147205 (2017).

*This work was supported by JST CREST Grant No. JPMJCR16F2

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Presenters

  • Yuuki Yasui

    • Center for Emergent Matter Science, RIKEN

Authors

  • Yuuki Yasui

    • Center for Emergent Matter Science, RIKEN

  • Christopher Butler

    • CEMS, RIKEN
    • Center for Emergent Matter Science, RIKEN

  • Khanh Nguyen

    • Center for Emergent Matter Science, RIKEN

  • Takuya Nomoto

    • University of Tokyo
    • Department of Applied Physics, University of Tokyo
    • Department of Applied Physics, The University of Tokyo

  • Satoru Hayami

    • Department of Physics, Hokkaido University

  • Tetsuo Hanaguri

    • Center for Emergent Matter Science, RIKEN
    • RIKEN
    • CEMS, RIKEN
    • RIKEN CEMS

  • Yukitoshi Motome

    • Department of Applied Physics, University of Tokyo
    • Department of Applied Physics, The University of Tokyo

  • Ryotaro Arita

    • University of Tokyo
    • Univ of Tokyo
    • Department of Applied Physics, The University of Tokyo

  • Taka-hisa Arima

    • Department of Advanced Materials Science, University of Tokyo
    • RIKEN CEMS and University of Tokyo
    • Univ of Tokyo-Kashiwanoha
    • Department of Advanced Material Science, The University of Tokyo

  • Yoshinori Tokura

    • RIKEN
    • Center for Emergent Matter Science (CEMS), RIKEN, Japan
    • CEMS, RIKEN
    • RIKEN CEMS and University of Tokyo
    • Center for Emergent Matter Science (CEMS), RIKEN
    • RIKEN CEMS
    • Department of Applied Physics, The University of Tokyo
    • The University of Tokyo
    • Center for Emergent Matter Science, RIKEN
    • RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science

  • Shinichiro Seki

    • Department of Applied Physics, The University of Tokyo
    • The University of Tokyo
    • Department of Applied Physics and Institute of Engineering Innovation, The University of Tokyo