English

Megahertz dynamics in skyrmion systems probed with muon-spin relaxation

Strongly Correlated Electrons 2021-01-27 v3

Abstract

We present longitudinal-field muon-spin relaxation (LF μ\muSR) measurements on two systems that stabilize a skyrmion lattice (SkL): Cu2_2OSeO3_3, and Cox_xZny_yMn20xy_{20-x-y} for (x,y) = (10,10)(x,y)~=~(10,10), (8,9)(8,9) and (8,8)(8,8). We find that the SkL phase of Cu2_2OSeO3_3 exhibits emergent dynamic behavior at megahertz frequencies, likely due to collective excitations, allowing the SkL to be identified from the μ\muSR response. From measurements following different cooling protocols and calculations of the muon stopping site, we suggest that the metastable SkL is not the majority phase throughout the bulk of this material at the fields and temperatures where it is often observed. The dynamics of bulk Co8_8Zn9_9Mn3_3 are well described by  2\simeq~2 GHz excitations that reduce in frequency near the critical temperature, while in Co8_8Zn8_8Mn4_4 we observe similar behavior over a wide range of temperatures, implying that dynamics of this kind persist beyond the SkL phase.

Cite

@article{arxiv.2011.10330,
  title  = {Megahertz dynamics in skyrmion systems probed with muon-spin relaxation},
  author = {T. J. Hicken and M. N. Wilson and K. J. A. Franke and B. M. Huddart and Z. Hawkhead and M. Gomilšek and S. J. Clark and F. L. Pratt and A. Štefančič and A. E. Hall and M. Ciomaga Hatnean and G. Balakrishnan and T. Lancaster},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2011.10330},
  year   = {2021}
}

Comments

9 pages, 5 figures

R2 v1 2026-06-23T20:23:33.979Z