Magnetism in the N\'{e}el skyrmion host GaV$_4$S$_8$ under pressure

TL;DR

This study investigates how hydrostatic pressure influences the magnetic phases of GaV4S8, revealing pressure-induced stabilization of the cycloidal state and potential enhancement of skyrmion lattice stability.

Contribution

It provides new insights into pressure effects on magnetic phase diagrams and the role of magnetic anisotropy in skyrmion-hosting materials.

Findings

Pressure reduces the crossover temperature from cycloidal to ferromagnetic-like states.

Cycloidal state persists at lower temperatures under higher pressure.

Magnetic anisotropy decrease correlates with increased skyrmion stability.

Abstract

We present magnetization and muon-spin spectroscopy measurements of N\'{e}el skyrmion-host GaV$_4$S$_8$ under the application of hydrostatic pressures up to $P=2.29$ GPa. Our results suggest that the magnetic phase diagram is altered with pressure via a reduction in the crossover temperature from the cycloidal (C) to ferromagnetic-like state with increasing $P$, such that, by 2.29 GPa, the C state appears to persist down to the lowest measured temperatures. With the aid of micromagnetic simulations, we propose that the driving mechanism behind this change is a reduction in the magnetic anisotropy of the system, and suggest that this could lead to an increase in stability of the skyrmion lattice.