Stray field signatures of N\'eel textured skyrmions in Ir/Fe/Co/Pt multilayer films

Skyrmions are nanoscale spin configurations with topological properties that hold great promise for spintronic devices. Here, we establish their N\'eel texture, helicity, and size in Ir/Fe/Co/Pt multilayer films by constructing a multipole expansion to model their stray field signatures and applying it to magnetic force microscopy (MFM) images. Furthermore, the demonstrated sensitivity to inhomogeneity in skyrmion properties, coupled with a unique capability to estimate the pinning force governing dynamics, portends broad applicability in the burgeoning field of topological spin textures.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, significantly revised and upgraded. For the updated supplementary material please contact one of the corresponding author

Chiral magnetic textures in Ir/Fe/Co/Pt multilayers: Evolution and topological Hall signature

Skyrmions are topologically protected, two-dimensional, localized hedgehogs and whorls of spin. Originally invented as a concept in field theory for nuclear interactions, skyrmions are central to a wide range of phenomena in condensed matter. Their realization at room temperature (RT) in magnetic multilayers has generated considerable interest, fueled by technological prospects and the access granted to fundamental questions. The interaction of skyrmions with charge carriers gives rise to exotic electrodynamics, such as the topological Hall effect (THE), the Hall response to an emergent magnetic field, a manifestation of the skyrmion Berry-phase. The proposal that THE can be used to detect skyrmions needs to be tested quantitatively. For that it is imperative to develop comprehensive understanding of skyrmions and other chiral textures, and their electrical fingerprint. Here, using Hall transport and magnetic imaging, we track the evolution of magnetic textures and their THE signature in a technologically viable multilayer film as a function of temperature ($T$) and out-of-plane applied magnetic field ($H$). We show that topological Hall resistivity ($\rho_\mathrm{TH}$) scales with the density of isolated skyrmions ($n_\mathrm{sk}$) over a wide range of $T$, confirming the impact of the skyrmion Berry-phase on electronic transport. We find that at higher $n_\mathrm{sk}$ skyrmions cluster into worms which carry considerable topological charge, unlike topologically-trivial spin spirals. While we establish a qualitative agreement between $\rho_\mathrm{TH}(H,T)$ and areal density of topological charge $n_\mathrm{T}(H,T)$, our detailed quantitative analysis shows a much larger $\rho_\mathrm{TH}$ than the prevailing theory predicts for observed $n_\mathrm{T}$.Comment: Major revision of the original version. The extensive Supplementary Information is available upon reques

Charge order driven by Fermi-arc instability in Bi2201

The understanding of the origin of superconductivity in cuprates has been hindered by the apparent diversity of intertwining electronic orders in these materials. We combined resonant x-ray scattering (REXS), scanning-tunneling microscopy (STM), and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) to observe a charge order that appears consistently in surface and bulk, and in momentum and real space within one cuprate family, Bi2201. The observed wave vectors rule out simple antinodal nesting in the single-particle limit but match well with a phenomenological model of a many-body instability of the Fermi arcs. Combined with earlier observations of electronic order in other cuprate families, these findings suggest the existence of a generic charge-ordered state in underdoped cuprates and uncover its intimate connection to the pseudogap regime.Comment: A high resolution version can be found at http://www.phas.ubc.ca/~quantmat/ARPES/PUBLICATIONS/Articles/Bi2201_CDW_REXS_STM.pdf

Widely Tunable Berry curvature in the Magnetic Semimetal Cr1+dTe2

Magnetic semimetals have increasingly emerged as lucrative platforms hosting spin-based topological phenomena in real and momentum spaces. Of particular interest is the emergence of Berry curvature, whose geometric origin, accessibility from Hall transport experiments, and material tunability, bodes well for new physics and practical devices. Cr1+dTe2, a self-intercalated magnetic transition metal dichalcogenide, TMD, exhibits attractive natural attributes relevant to such applications, including topological magnetism, tunable electron filling, magnetic frustration etc. While recent studies have explored real-space Berry curvature effects in this material, similar considerations of momentum-space Berry curvature are lacking. Here, we systematically investigate the electronic structure and transport properties of epitaxial Cr1+dTe2 thin films over a wide range of doping, d between 0.33 and 0.71. Spectroscopic experiments reveal the presence of a characteristic semi-metallic band region near the Brillouin Zone edge, which shows a rigid band like energy shift as a function of d. Transport experiments show that the intrinsic component of the anomalous Hall effect, AHE, is sizable, and undergoes a sign flip across d. Finally, density functional theory calculations establish a causal link between the observed doping evolution of the band structure and AHE: the AHE sign flip is shown to emerge from the sign change of the Berry curvature, as the semi-metallic band region crosses the Fermi energy. Our findings underscore the increasing relevance of momentum-space Berry curvature in magnetic TMDs and provide a unique platform for intertwining topological physics in real and momentum spaces

Coexisting Charge-Ordered States with Distinct Driving Mechanisms in Monolayer VSe₂

Thinning crystalline materials to two dimensions (2D) creates a rich playground for electronic phases, including charge, spin, superconducting, and topological order. Bulk materials hosting charge density waves (CDWs), when reduced to ultrathin films, have shown CDW enhancement and tunability. However, charge order confined to only 2D remains elusive. Here we report a distinct charge ordered state emerging in the monolayer limit of 1T-VSe2. Systematic scanning tunneling microscopy experiments reveal that bilayer VSe2 largely retains the bulk electronic structure, hosting a tridirectional CDW. However, monolayer VSe2 -consistently across distinct substrates-exhibits a dimensional crossover, hosting two CDWs with distinct wavelengths and transition temperatures. Electronic structure calculations reveal that while one CDW is bulk-like and arises from the well-known Peierls mechanism, the other is decidedly unconventional. The observed CDW-lattice decoupling and the emergence of a flat band suggest that the second CDW could arise from enhanced electron-electron interactions in the 2D limit. These findings establish monolayer-VSe2 as a host of coexisting charge orders with distinct origins, and enable the tailoring of electronic phenomena via emergent interactions in 2D materials

Emergent Phenomena Induced by Spin-Orbit Coupling at Surfaces and Interfaces

Spin-orbit coupling (SOC) describes the relativistic interaction between the spin and momentum degrees of freedom of electrons, and is central to the rich phenomena observed in condensed matter systems. In recent years, new phases of matter have emerged from the interplay between SOC and low dimensionality, such as chiral spin textures and spin-polarized surface and interface states. These low-dimensional SOC-based realizations are typically robust and can be exploited at room temperature. Here we discuss SOC as a means of producing such fundamentally new physical phenomena in thin films and heterostructures. We put into context the technological promise of these material classes for developing spin-based device applications at room temperature

Characterization of collective ground states in single-layer NbSe2

Layered transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) are ideal systems for exploring the effects of dimensionality on correlated electronic phases such as charge density wave (CDW) order and superconductivity. In bulk NbSe2 a CDW sets in at TCDW = 33 K and superconductivity sets in at Tc = 7.2 K. Below Tc these electronic states coexist but their microscopic formation mechanisms remain controversial. Here we present an electronic characterization study of a single 2D layer of NbSe2 by means of low temperature scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy (STM/STS), angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES), and electrical transport measurements. We demonstrate that 3x3 CDW order in NbSe2 remains intact in 2D. Superconductivity also still remains in the 2D limit, but its onset temperature is depressed to 1.9 K. Our STS measurements at 5 K reveal a CDW gap of {\Delta} = 4 meV at the Fermi energy, which is accessible via STS due to the removal of bands crossing the Fermi level for a single layer. Our observations are consistent with the simplified (compared to bulk) electronic structure of single-layer NbSe2, thus providing new insight into CDW formation and superconductivity in this model strongly-correlated system.Comment: Nature Physics (2015), DOI:10.1038/nphys352