PRESS RELEASE

Skyrmion lattice with a giant topological Hall effect in a frustrated triangular-lattice magnet


Authors
Takashi Kurumaji, Taro Nakajima, Max Hirschberger, Akiko Kikkawa, Yuichi Yamasaki, Hajime Sagayama, Hironori Nakao, Yasujiro Taguchi, Takahisa Arima, and Yoshinori Tokura


Abstract
Geometrically frustrated magnets can host complex spin textures, leading to unconventional electromagnetic responses. Magnetic frustration may also promote topologically nontrivial spin states such as magnetic skyrmions. Experimentally, however, skyrmions have largely been observed in noncentrosymmetric lattice structures or interfacial symmetry-breaking heterostructures. Here, we report the emergence of a Bloch-type skyrmion state in a frustrated centrosymmetric triangular-lattice magnet Gd2PdSi3. We observed a giant topological Hall response, indicating a field-induced skyrmion phase, which is further corroborated by the observation of in-plane spin modulation probed by resonant x-ray scattering. Our results may lead to further discoveries of emergent electrodynamics in magnetically frustrated centrosymmetric materials.

 

Science:https://science.sciencemag.org/content/early/2019/08/07/science.aau0968