# Chiral magnetoresistance in Pt/Co/Pt zigzag wires

## TL;DR

This paper demonstrates the existence of chiral magnetoresistance in Pt/Co/Pt zigzag wires, linking Rashba effect and Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction to domain wall resistance, and provides a method to quantify these effects.

## Contribution

It introduces a novel measurement of chiral magnetoresistance in zigzag wires and correlates Rashba effect, DMI, and exchange interactions through experimental and theoretical analysis.

## Key findings

- Chirality-dependent domain wall resistance observed.
- Quantitative agreement with Rashba model theory.
- Independent determination of Rashba and DMI strengths.

## Abstract

The Rashba effect leads to a chiral precession of the spins of moving electrons while the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) generates preference towards a chiral profile of local spins. We predict that the exchange interaction between these two spin systems results in a 'chiral' magnetoresistance depending on the chirality of the local spin texture. We observe this magnetoresistance by measuring the domain wall (DW) resistance in a uniquely designed Pt/Co/Pt zigzag wire, and by changing the chirality of the DW with applying an in-plane magnetic field. A chirality-dependent DW resistance is found, and a quantitative analysis shows a good agreement with a theory based on the Rashba model. Moreover, the DW resistance measurement allows us to independently determine the strength of the Rashba effect and the DMI simultaneously, and the result implies a possible correlation between the Rashba effect, the DMI, and the symmetric Heisenberg exchange.