AC current generation in chiral magnetic insulators and skyrmion motion induced by the spin Seebeck effect

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that temperature gradients in multiferroic insulators generate ac currents and can move skyrmions in chiral magnets, highlighting potential for spin caloritronics applications.

Contribution

It reveals how thermal gradients induce ac currents and drive skyrmion motion in insulating magnetic materials, combining these effects for novel spin caloritronics functionalities.

Findings

Temperature gradients induce ac electric currents in multiferroic insulators.

Thermal gradients can move skyrmions via magnonic spin transfer torque.

Skyrmion motion affects ac current generation, enabling new applications.

Abstract

We show that a temperature gradient induces an ac electric current in multiferroic insulators when the sample is embedded in a circuit. We also show that a thermal gradient can be used to move magnetic skyrmions in insulating chiral magnets: the induced magnon flow from the hot to the cold region drives the skyrmions in the opposite direction via a magnonic spin transfer torque. Both results are combined to compute the effect of skyrmion motion on the ac current generation and demonstrate that skyrmions in insulators are a promising route for spin caloritronics applications.