The orbital magnetic moment is usually associated with the relativistic spin-orbit interaction, but recently it has been shown that noncollinear magnetic structures can also be its driving force. This is important not only for magnetic skyrmions, but also for other noncollinear structures, either bulk-like or at the nanoscale, with consequences regarding their experimental detection. In this work we present a minimal model that contains the effects of both the relativistic spin-orbit interaction and of magnetic noncollinearity on the orbital magnetism. A hierarchy of models is discussed in a step-by-step fashion, highlighting the role of time-reversal symmetry breaking for translational and spin and orbital angular motions. Couplings of spin-orbit and orbit-orbit type are identified as arising from the magnetic noncollinearity. We recover the atomic contribution to the orbital magnetic moment, and a nonlocal one due to the presence of circulating bound currents, exploring different balances between the kinetic energy, the spin exchange interaction, and the relativistic spin-orbit interaction. The connection to the scalar spin chirality is examined. The orbital magnetism driven by magnetic noncollinearity is mostly unexplored, and the presented model contributes to laying its groundwork.
The discovery of two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals magnets opened unprecedented opportunities for the fundamental exploration of magnetism in quantum materials and the realization of next generation spintronic devices. Here, based on a multiscale modelling approach that combines first-principles calculations and a Heisenberg model supplied with ab-initio parameters, we report a strong magnetoelastic coupling in a free-standing monolayer of CrTe$_2$. We demonstrate that different crystal structures of a single CrTe$_2$ give rise to non-collinear magnetism through magnetic frustration and emerg…
Smoothly varying magnetization textures such as domain walls, skyrmions or hopfions serve as promising candidates for the information bits of the future. Understanding their physical properties is both a major field of interest and a theoretical challenge, involving the physics on different length scales. Here, we apply the phase space formulation of quantum mechanics to magnetic insulators and metals in the limit of zero temperature to obtain a gradient expansion in terms of real-space derivatives of the magnetization. Our primary focus is the anomalous Hall effect in noncollinear magnets whi…
When superconductivity couples with noncollinear spin textures, rich physics arises; for instance, singlet Cooper pairs can be converted to triplet pairs, and topological superconductors can be realized. For their applications, the controllability of noncollinear magnetism is a crucial issue. Here, we propose that a supercurrent can induce and control noncollinear magnetic orders in a correlated metal on top of a singlet superconductor. We show that the magnetic instability in the correlated metal is enhanced by the proximity effect of supercurrents, which leads to phase transitions from a par…
Within Landau theory, magnetism and polarity are homotopic, displaying a one-to-one correspondence between most physical characteristics. However, despite widely reported noncollinear magnetism, spontaneous noncollinear electric dipole order as ground state is rare. Here a dioxydihalides family is predicted to display noncollinear ferrielectricity, induced by competing ferroelectric and antiferroelectric soft modes. This intrinsic noncollinearity of dipoles generates unique physical properties, such as $\mathbb{Z}_2\times\mathbb{Z}_2$ topological domains, atomic-scale dipole vortices, and nega…
The review is aimed at highlighting the aspects of topological superconductivity in the absence of spin-orbit interaction in two-dimensional systems with long-range non-collinear spin ordering or magnetic skyrmions. Another purpose is to give a brief introduction to the new concept of topological superconductivity, i.e. higher-order topology in two-dimensional systems including spin-orbit coupled structures. The formation of Majorana modes due to magnetic textures is discussed. The role of effective triplet pairings and odd fermion parity of the ground state wave function in different systems …
We analyze a quantum-classical hybrid system of steadily precessing slow classical localized magnetic moments, forming a head-to-head domain wall, embedded into an open quantum system of fast nonequilibrium electrons. The electrons reside within a metallic wire connected to macroscopic reservoirs. The model captures the essence of dynamical noncollinear and noncoplanar magnetic textures in spintronics, while making it possible to obtain the exact time-dependent nonequilibrium density matrix of electronic system and split it into four contributions. The Fermi surface contribution generates diss…
A new class of orbital-dependent exchange-correlation (xc) potentials for applications in noncollinear spin-density-functional theory is developed. Starting from the optimized effective potential (OEP) formalism for the exact exchange potential - generalized to the noncollinear case - correlation effects are added via a self-consistent procedure inspired by the Singwi-Tosi-Land-Sjolander (STLS) method. The orbital-dependent xc potentials are applied to the Hubbard dimer in uniform and noncollinear magnetic fields and compared to exact diagonalization and to the Bethe-ansatz local spin-density …
We show that an individual adatom on a magnetic surface can exhibit a noncollinear spin density. Using density functional theory we study Co and Ir adatoms on a Mn monolayer on the W(110) surface which possesses a noncollinear canted spin structure. Due to hybridization with the nearest and next-nearest Mn atoms of the monolayer the spin direction of the underlying substrate is encoded into the orbitals of the adatom. This explains recent scanning tunneling microscopy experiments showing a spin sensitive shape asymmetry of adatoms [Serrate \emph{et al.}, Phys. Rev. B \textbf{93}, 125424 (2016)…
Both applied electric currents and magnetization dynamics modify the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI), which we call current-induced DMI (CIDMI) and dynamical DMI (DDMI), respectively. We report a theory of CIDMI and DDMI. The inverse of CIDMI consists in charge pumping by a time-dependent gradient of magnetization $\partial^2 M(r,t)/\partial r\partial t$, while the inverse of DDMI describes the torque generated by $\partial^2 M(r,t)/\partial r\partial t$. In noncollinear magnets CIDMI and DDMI depend on the local magnetization direction. The resulting spatial gradients correspond to to…
Topological Superconductivity by Engineering Noncollinear Magnetism in Magnet/ Superconductor Heterostructures: A Realistic Prescription for 2D Kitaev Model
提出用邻近 s 波超导体的非共线自旋螺旋构造有效 p_x+p_y 配对,并以 Nb 衬底上的 Mn/Cr 单层验证二维 Kitaev 拓扑超导及稳健 MFEM。
Noncollinear spin textures and 90° domain walls in twisted XY magnets
WPI Advanced Institute for Materials Research (AIMR), Tohoku University(东北大学材料高等研究院);Frontier Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Sciences, Tohoku University(东北大学前沿交叉科学研究院);Elmore Family School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Purdue University(普渡大学埃尔莫电气与计算机工程学院);Department of Physics and Astronomy, Purdue University(普渡大学物理与天文学系);Purdue Quantum Science and Engineering Institute and Birck Nanotechnology Center, Purdue University(普渡大学量子科学与工程研究所及伯克纳米技术中心);Institute of Physics and Astronomy and Villum Centers for Hybrid Quantum Materials and devices, Aarhus University(奥胡斯大学物理与天文研究所及维伦混合量子材料与器件中心);Institute for Materials Research (IMR), Tohoku University(东北大学材料研究所);School of Physics and Beijing Key Laboratory of Opto-electronic Functional Materials & Micro-nano Devices, Renmin University of China(中国人民大学物理学院及光电功能材料与微纳器件北京市重点实验室);Key Laboratory of Quantum State Construction and Manipulation (Ministry of Education), Renmin University of China(中国人民大学量子态构建与操控教育部重点实验室);Research Center for Electronic and Optical Materials, National Institute for Materials Science(物质材料研究机构电子与光学材料研究中心);Research Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics, National Institute for Materials Science(物质材料研究机构材料纳米架构研究中心)
This paper presents a path to tailor adapted magnetic and optical properties in carbyne. Although p-orbital magnetism is generally much weaker than d-orbital magnetism, we demonstrate that the charge fluctuation of the free radical electrons triggered by a time-varying electric dipole moment leads to enormous p-orbital magnetism. By introducing 25% arsenic and 12.5% fluorine into the monoatomic carbon chain, the magnetic moment of the arsenic atom reaches 2.9 Bohr Magneton, which is ~1.3 times stronger than magnetic moment of bulk Fe. This magnetically optimized carbyne composite carries an ex…
Novel noncollinear antiferromagnets with spontaneous time-reversal symmetry breaking, nontrivial band topology, and unconventional transport properties have received immense research interest over the past decade due to their rich physics and enormous promise in technological applications. One of the central focuses in this emerging field is exploring the relationship between the microscopic magnetic structure and exotic material properties. Here, the nanoscale imaging of both spin-orbit-torque-induced deterministic magnetic switching and chiral spin rotation in noncollinear antiferromagnet Mn…
We present a first-principles study of the surface magnetism induced by Cr, Mn, Fe and Co adatoms on the (111) surfaces of Rh, Pd, Ag, Ir, Pt and Au. We first describe how the different contributions to the surface magnetism enter the magnetic stray field, with special attention paid to the induced orbital moments. Then we present results for the spin and orbital magnetic moments of the adatoms, and for the induced surface spin and orbital magnetic moments, the latter being further divided into atomic and inter-atomic contributions. We investigate how the surface magnetism is determined by the…
Lanthanide atoms and molecules are promising candidates for atomic data storage and quantum logic due to the long magnetic lifetime of their electron quantum states. Accessing these states through electrical transport requires the engineering of their electronic configuration down to the level of individual atomic orbitals. Here, we address the magnetism of surface-supported lanthanide atoms, clusters, and films with orbital selectivity using X-ray absorption spectroscopy and magnetic circular dichroism. We exploit the selection rules of electric dipole transitions to reveal the occupation and…
The orbital magnetic moment is still surprisingly not well understood, in contrast to the spin part. Its description in finite systems, such as isolated atoms and molecules, is not problematic, but it was only recently that a rigorous picture was provided for extended systems. Here we focus on an intermediate class of systems: magnetic adatoms placed on a non-magnetic surface. We show that the essential quantity is the ground-state charge current density, in the presence of spin-orbit coupling, and set out its first-principles description. This is illustrated by studying the magnetism of the s…
Efficient control of magnetism with electric means is a central issue of current spintronics research, which opens an opportunity to design integrated spintronic devices. However, recent well-studied methods are mostly based on electric-current injection, and they are inevitably accompanied by considerable energy losses through Joule heating. Here we theoretically propose a way to exert spin torques into magnetic bilayer systems by application of electric voltages through taking advantage of the Rashba spin-orbit interaction. The torques resemble the well-known electric-current-induced torques…
The combination of topology and magnetism is attractive to produce exotic quantum matters, such as the quantum anomalous Hall state, axion insulators and the magnetic Weyl semimetals. MnBi2Te4, as an intrinsic magnetic topological insulator, provides a platform for the realization of various topological phases. Here we report the intermediate Hall steps in the magnetic hysteresis of MnBi2Te4, where four distinguishable magnetic memory states at zero magnetic field are revealed. The gate and temperature dependence of the magnetic intermediate states indicates the noncollinear spin structure in …
The last two decades have witnessed various experiments reporting very unusual magnetic properties of ensembles of gold nanoparticles surrounded by organic ligands, including ferromagnetic, paramagnetic, or (large) diamagnetic responses. These behaviors are at odds with the small diamagnetic response of macroscopic gold samples. Here we theoretically investigate the possibility that the observed unusual magnetism in capped gold nanoparticles is of orbital origin. Employing semiclassical techniques, we calculate the orbital component to the zero-field susceptibility of individual as well as ens…
The quantum anomalous Hall (QAH) effect - a macroscopic manifestation of chiral band topology at zero magnetic field - has only been experimentally realized by magnetic doping of topological insulators (1 - 3) and delicate design of Moire heterostructures (4 - 8). However, the seemingly simple bilayer graphene without magnetic doping or Moire engineering has long been predicted to host competing ordered states with QAH effects (9 - 11). Here, we explore states in bilayer graphene with conductance of 2 e2/h that not only survive down to anomalously small magnetic fields and up to temperatures o…
Two hundred years ago, André-Marie Ampère discovered that electric loops in which currents of electrons are generated by a penetrating magnetic field can interact with each other. Here we show that Ampère's observation can be transferred to the quantum realm of interactions between triangular plaquettes of spins on a lattice, where the electrical currents at the atomic scale are associated with a peculiar type of the orbital motion of electrons in response to the non-coplanarity of neighbouring spins playing the role of a magnetic field. The resulting topological orbital moment underlies the r…
Skyrmion lattices as a novel type of chiral spin states are attracting increasing attention, owing to their peculiar properties stemming from real-space topological properties. At the same time, the properties of magnetic Weyl semimetals with complex $k$-space topology are moving into the focus of research in spintronics. We consider the Hall transport properties and orbital magnetism of skyrmion lattices imprinted in topological semimetals, by employing a minimal model of a 2D mixed Weyl semimetal which, as a function of the magnetization direction, exhibits two Chern insulator phases separat…
Anatomy of the modern theory of orbital magnetism from first-principles: term-by-term analysis in the gauge-covariant formalism
Pohang University of Science and Technology(浦项科技大学);Center for Quantum Dynamics of Angular Momentum(角动量量子动力学中心);Peter Grünberg Institut, Forschungszentrum Jülich(彼得·格林伯格研究所,于利希研究中心);Institute of Physics, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz(美因茨约翰内斯·古腾堡大学物理研究所);Department of Physics, RWTH Aachen University(亚琛工业大学物理系);Korea University(高丽大学)
Achieving multiferroic two-dimensional (2D) materials should enable numerous functionalities in nanoscale devices. Until now, however, predicted 2D multiferroics are very few and with coexisting yet only loosely coupled (type-I) ferroelectricity and magnetism. Here, a type-II multiferroic MXene Hf$_{2}$VC$_{2}$F$_{2}$ monolayer is identified, where ferroelectricity originates directly from its magnetism. The noncollinear Y-type spin order generates a polarization perpendicular to the spin helical plane. Remarkably, the multiferroic transition is estimated to occur above room temperature. Our i…