Fractional spin textures at the edges*

Since the discovery of the magnetic skyrmion in MnSi, nano-scale non-collinear spin textures have attracted significant attention [1]. Of particular interest are Heusler compounds with D_2d symmetry that exhibit a new spin texture called an elliptical Bloch skyrmion, whose symmetry supports antiskyrmion [2,3,4,5]. It was found that dipole-dipole interactions and Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction (DMI) contribute to the stabilization of distinct topological phases within a single compound. Recently, in the same compound, we have observed the formation and stability of fractional antiskyrmions and fractional Bloch skyrmions at the edges of thin specimens. The anisotropic DMI in Heusler compounds is a two-dimensional interaction that acts layer-wise to exhibit vertical tubular structures, which is responsible for their observation [6]. Further, we can continuously control their topological charges by tuning the field, as they either annihilate or convert into integer-charged objects. The D_2d Heusler compound family is unique for manipulating the real-space topology of spin textures since it contains both integer and fractionally charged spin textures in the same material.

 

[1] S. Mühlbauer et al., Science. 323, 915 (2009).

[2] A.K. Nayak et al., Nature. 548, 561 (2017).

[3] J. Jena et. al., Nano Lett. 20, 59 (2020).

[4] J. Jena et. al., Nat. Commun. 11, 1115 (2020).

[5] Sharma et. al., Adv. Mater. 33, 2101323 (2021).

[6] J. Jena et. al., Nat. Commun. 13, 2348 (2022).