Lattice-commensurate skyrmion texture in a centrosymmetric breathing kagome magnet

Abstract

Skyrmion lattices (SkL) in centrosymmetric materials typically have a magnetic period on the nanometer-scale, so that the coupling between magnetic superstructures and the underlying crystal lattice cannot be neglected. Here, we reveal the commensurate locking of a SkL to the atomic lattice in Gd${}_3$Ru${}_4$Al${}_{12}$ via high-resolution resonant elastic x-ray scattering (REXS). Weak easy-plane magnetic anisotropy, demonstrated here by a combination of ferromagnetic resonance and REXS, penalizes placing a skyrmion core on a site of the atomic lattice. Under these conditions, a commensurate SkL, locked to the crystal lattice, is stable at finite temperatures -- but gives way to a competing incommensurate ground state upon cooling. We discuss the role of Umklapp-terms in the Hamiltonian for the formation of this lattice-locked state, its magnetic space group, the role of slight discommensurations, or (line) defects in the magnetic texture, and contrast our findings with the case of SkLs in noncentrosymmetric material platforms.

17 pages, 4 figures, additional SI included (19 pages, 11 figures, 1 table)

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Cited by in corpus (5)

• Lattice-commensurate skyrmion texture in a centrosymmetric breathing kagome magnet
• Triangular lattice magnet GdGa${}_2$ with short-period spin cycloids and possible skyrmion phases
• A Magnon Band Analysis of GdRu2Si2 in the Field-Polarized State
• Collinear ferromagnetism with reduced moment length in kagome magnet Nd3Ru4Al12
• Kagome edge states under lattice termination, spin-orbit coupling, and magnetic order