Skyrmion Lattice in a Chiral Magnet

Skyrmions represent topologically stable field configurations with particle-like properties. We used neutron scattering to observe the spontaneous formation of a two-dimensional lattice of skyrmion lines, a type of magnetic vortices, in the chiral itinerant-electron magnet MnSi. The skyrmion lattice stabilizes at the border between paramagnetism and long-range helimagnetic order perpendicular to a small applied magnetic field regardless of the direction of the magnetic field relative to the atomic lattice. Our study experimentally establishes magnetic materials lacking inversion symmetry as an arena for new forms of crystalline order composed of topologically stable spin states

Quantum Phase Transitions in the Itinerant Ferromagnet ZrZn2_2

We report a study of the ferromagnetism of ZrZn$_{2}$, the most promising material to exhibit ferromagnetic quantum criticality, at low temperatures $T$ as function of pressure $p$. We find that the ordered ferromagnetic moment disappears discontinuously at $p_c$=16.5 kbar. Thus a tricritical point separates a line of first order ferromagnetic transitions from second order (continuous) transitions at higher temperature. We also identify two lines of transitions of the magnetisation isotherms up to 12 T in the $p-T$ plane where the derivative of the magnetization changes rapidly. These quantum phase transitions (QPT) establish a high sensitivity to local minima in the free energy in ZrZn$_{2}$, thus strongly suggesting that QPT in itinerant ferromagnets are always first order

Imaging and manipulation of skyrmion lattice domains in Cu2OSeO3

Nanoscale chiral skyrmions in noncentrosymmetric helimagnets are promising binary state variables in high-density, low-energy nonvolatile memory. Skyrmions are ubiquitous as an ordered, single-domain lattice phase, which makes it difficult to write information unless they are spatially broken up into smaller units, each representing a bit. Thus, the formation and manipulation of skyrmion lattice domains is a prerequisite for memory applications. Here, using an imaging technique based on resonant magnetic x-ray diffraction, we demonstrate the mapping and manipulation of skyrmion lattice domains in Cu2OSeO3. The material is particularly interesting for applications owing to its insulating nature, allowing for electric field-driven domain manipulation.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Magnon Exchange Mechanism of Ferromagnetic Superconductivity

The magnon exchange mechanism of ferromagnetic superconductivity (FM-superconductivity) was developed to explain in a natural way the fact that the superconductivity in $UGe_2$, $ZrZn_2$ and $URhGe$ is confined to the ferromagnetic phase.The order parameter is a spin anti-parallel component of a spin-1 triplet with zero spin projection. The transverse spin fluctuations are pair forming and the longitudinal ones are pair breaking. In the present paper, a superconducting solution, based on the magnon exchange mechanism, is obtained which closely matches the experiments with $ZrZn_2$ and $URhGe$. The onset of superconductivity leads to the appearance of complicated Fermi surfaces in the spin up and spin down momentum distribution functions. Each of them consist of two pieces, but they are simple-connected and can be made very small by varying the microscopic parameters. As a result, it is obtained that the specific heat depends on the temperature linearly, at low temperature, and the coefficient $\gamma=\frac {C}{T}$ is smaller in the superconducting phase than in the ferromagnetic one. The absence of a quantum transition from ferromagnetism to ferromagnetic superconductivity in a weak ferromagnets $ZrZn_2$ and $URhGe$ is explained accounting for the contribution of magnon self-interaction to the spin fluctuations' parameters. It is shown that in the presence of an external magnetic field the system undergoes a first order quantum phase transition.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in Phys.Rev.

Linearly polarized GHz magnetization dynamics of spin helix modes in the ferrimagnetic insulator Cu2_{2}OSeO3_{3}

Linear dichroism -- the polarization dependent absorption of electromagnetic waves -- is routinely exploited in applications as diverse as structure determination of DNA or polarization filters in optical technologies. Here filamentary absorbers with a large length-to-width ratio are a prerequisite. For magnetization dynamics in the few GHz frequency regime strictly linear dichroism was not observed for more than eight decades. Here, we show that the bulk chiral magnet Cu$_{2}$OSeO$_{3}$ exhibits linearly polarized magnetization dynamics at an unexpectedly small frequency of about 2 GHz. Unlike optical filters that are assembled from filamentary absorbers, the magnet provides linear polarization as a bulk material for an extremely wide range of length-to-width ratios. In addition, the polarization plane of a given mode can be switched by 90$^\circ$ via a tiny variation in width. Our findings shed a new light on magnetization dynamics in that ferrimagnetic ordering combined with anisotropic exchange interaction offers strictly linear polarization and cross-polarized modes for a broad spectrum of sample shapes. The discovery allows for novel design rules and optimization of microwave-to-magnon transduction in emerging microwave technologies.Comment: 20 pages, 4 figure

Crystalline phases in chiral ferromagnets: Destabilization of helical order

In chiral ferromagnets, weak spin-orbit interactions twist the ferromagnetic order into spirals, leading to helical order. We investigate an extended Ginzburg-Landau theory of such systems where the helical order is destabilized in favor of crystalline phases. These crystalline phases are based on periodic arrangements of double-twist cylinders and are strongly reminiscent of blue phases in liquid crystals. We discuss the relevance of such blue phases for the phase diagram of the chiral ferromagnet MnSi.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures (published version

The quantum phase transition of itinerant helimagnets

We investigate the quantum phase transition of itinerant electrons from a paramagnet to a state which displays long-period helical structures due to a Dzyaloshinskii instability of the ferromagnetic state. In particular, we study how the self-generated effective long-range interaction recently identified in itinerant quantum ferromagnets is cut-off by the helical ordering. We find that for a sufficiently strong Dzyaloshinskii instability the helimagnetic quantum phase transition is of second order with mean-field exponents. In contrast, for a weak Dzyaloshinskii instability the transition is analogous to that in itinerant quantum ferromagnets, i.e. it is of first order, as has been observed in MnSi.Comment: 5 pages RevTe

Configurable multiplier modules for an adaptive computing system

The importance of reconfigurable hardware is increasing steadily. For example, the primary approach of using adaptive systems based on programmable gate arrays and configurable routing resources has gone mainstream and high-performance programmable logic devices are rivaling traditional application-specific hardwired integrated circuits. Also, the idea of moving from the 2-D domain into a 3-D design which stacks several active layers above each other is gaining momentum in research and industry, to cope with the demand for smaller devices with a higher scale of integration. However, optimized arithmetic blocks in course-grain reconfigurable arrays as well as field-programmable architectures still play an important role. In countless digital systems and signal processing applications, the multiplication is one of the critical challenges, where in many cases a trade-off between area usage and data throughput has to be made. But the a priori choice of word-length and number representation can also be replaced by a dynamic choice at run-time, in order to improve flexibility, area efficiency and the level of parallelism in computation. In this contribution, we look at an adaptive computing system called 3-D-SoftChip to point out what parameters are crucial to implement flexible multiplier blocks into optimized elements for accelerated processing. The 3-D-SoftChip architecture uses a novel approach to 3-dimensional integration based on flip-chip bonding with indium bumps. The modular construction, the introduction of interfaces to realize the exchange of intermediate data, and the reconfigurable sign handling approach will be explained, as well as a beneficial way to handle and distribute the numerous required control signals