Noncoplanar multiple-$Q$ spin textures by itinerant frustration: Effects of single-ion anisotropy and bond-dependent anisotropy

TL;DR

This paper theoretically explores how single-ion and bond-dependent anisotropies influence the formation of complex noncoplanar multiple-Q spin textures, including skyrmion and meron crystals, in centrosymmetric itinerant magnets.

Contribution

It reveals the stabilization mechanisms of various multiple-Q spin textures under different anisotropies and magnetic fields, expanding understanding of magnetic phases in centrosymmetric systems.

Findings

Multiple-Q instabilities depend on anisotropy strength and sign.

Skyrmion crystals with topological numbers of one and two are stabilized.

Bond-dependent anisotropy selectively stabilizes Bloch- or Néeel-type skyrmions.

Abstract

We theoretically investigate multiple-$Q$ spin textures, which are composed of superpositions of spin density waves with different wave numbers, for an effective spin model of centrosymmetric itinerant magnets. Our focus is on the interplay between biquadratic interactions arising from the spin-charge coupling and magnetic anisotropy caused by the spin-orbit coupling. Taking into account two types of the magnetic anisotropy, single-ion anisotropy and bond-dependent anisotropy, we elucidate magnetic phase diagrams for an archetypal triangular-lattice system in the absence and presence of an external magnetic field. In the case of the single-ion anisotropy, we find a plethora of multiple-$Q$ instabilities depending on the strength and the sign of the anisotropy (easy plane or easy axis), including a skyrmion crystal with topological number of two. In an external magnetic field, we find that a skyrmion crystal with topological number of one is stabilized by the in-plane (out-of-plane) magnetic field under the easy-plane (easy-axis) anisotropy. We also examine the stability of the field-induced skyrmion crystal by rotating the field direction. As a biproduct, we show that a triple-$Q$ state with nonzero chirality appears in the presence of the biquadratic interaction and the easy-axis anisotropy. Meanwhile, we find that the bond-dependent anisotropy also stabilizes both types of skyrmion crystals. We show that, however, for the skyrmion crystal with topological number of one, Bloch- and N\'eel-type skyrmion crystals are selectively realized depending on the sign of the bond-dependent anisotropy. Moreover, we find yet another multiple-$Q$ states, including two types of meron crystals with the skyrmion numbers of one and two. The systematic investigation will provide a reference to complex magnetic textures in centrosymmetric magnetic metals.