Chiral Magnets from String Theory

TL;DR

This paper models chiral magnets, including skyrmions and domain walls, within string theory using brane configurations, revealing how magnetic phases correspond to brane geometries and dynamics.

Contribution

It introduces a string theory framework for chiral magnets, connecting magnetic phases and topological structures to brane configurations and dynamics.

Findings

Ferromagnetic phase corresponds to straight D-branes

Skyrmions represented as D0-branes (D1-branes) in the model

Inhomogeneous phases involve bent or zigzag D-branes

Abstract

Chiral magnets with the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya (DM) interaction have received quite an intensive focus in condensed matter physics because of the presence of a chiral soliton lattice (CSL), an array of magnetic domain walls and anti-domain walls, and magnetic skyrmions. In this paper, we realize chiral magnets in type-IIA/B string theory by using the Hanany-Witten brane configuration (consisting of D3, D5 and NS5-branes) and the fractional D2 and D6 branes on the Eguchi-Hanson manifold. In the both cases, we put constant non-Abelian magnetic fluxes on flavor D-branes, turning them into magnetized D-branes. The $O(3)$ sigma model with an easy-axis or easy-plane potential and the DM interaction is realized on the worldvolume of the color D-branes. The ground state is the ferromagnetic (uniform) phase and the color D-brane is straight when the DM interaction is small compared with the scalar mass. However, when the DM interaction is larger, the uniform state is no longer stable and the ground state is inhomogeneous: the CSL phases and helimagnetic phase. In this case, the color D-brane is no longer straight but is snaky (zigzag) when the DM interaction is smaller (larger) than a critical value. A magnetic domain wall in the ferromagnetic phase is realized as a kinky D-brane. We further construct magnetic skyrmions in the ferromagnetic phase, realized as D1-branes (fractional D0-branes) in the former (latter) configuration. We see that the host D2-brane is bent around the position of a D0-brane as a magnetic skyrmion. Finally, we construct, in the ferromagnetic phase, domain-wall skyrmions, that is, composite states of a domain wall and skyrmions, and find that the domain wall is no longer flat in the vicinity of the skyrmion. Consequently, a kinky D2-brane worldvolume is pulled or pushed in the vicinity of the D0-brane depending on the sign of the skyrmion topological charge.