Spontaneous skyrmionic lattice from anisotropic symmetric exchange in a Ni-halide monolayer

[en] Topological spin structures, such as magnetic skyrmions, hold great promises for data storage applications, thanks to their inherent stability. In most cases, skyrmions are stabilized by magnetic fields in non-centrosymmetric systems displaying the chiral Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya exchange interaction, while spontaneous skyrmion lattices have been reported in centrosymmetric itinerant magnets with long-range interactions. Here, a spontaneous anti-biskyrmion lattice with unique topology and chirality is predicted in the monolayer of a semiconducting and centrosymmetric metal halide, NiI2. Our first-principles and Monte Carlo simulations reveal that the anisotropies of the short-range symmetric exchange, when combined with magnetic frustration, can lead to an emergent chiral interaction that is responsible for the predicted topological spin structures. The proposed mechanism finds a prototypical manifestation in two-dimensional magnets, thus broadening the class of materials that can host spontaneous skyrmionic states.

Disciplines :

Physics

Author, co-author :

Amoroso, Danila ; Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche > CNR-SPIN

Barone, Paolo

Picozzi, Silvia

Language :

English

Title :

Spontaneous skyrmionic lattice from anisotropic symmetric exchange in a Ni-halide monolayer

Publication date :

2020

Journal title :

Nature Communications

eISSN :

2041-1723

Publisher :

Nature Publishing Group, United Kingdom

Volume :

Issue :

Pages :

5784

Peer reviewed :

Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi

Available on ORBi :

since 24 December 2021

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