SP-STM study of the multi-Q phases in GdRu2Si2

TL;DR

This study uses spin-polarized STM to investigate the magnetic phases of GdRu2Si2 surfaces, confirming multi-Q spin textures and revealing surface-specific magnetic phase transitions and modulations.

Contribution

First direct spin-resolved measurements confirm the multi-Q nature of GdRu2Si2's zero-field state and reveal surface-dependent magnetic phase transitions.

Findings

Confirmation of multi-Q spin textures at zero magnetic field

Identification of magnetic phase transitions on different surfaces

Surface-specific magnetic modulations and challenges in detecting magnetic signals

Abstract

The two stable surfaces of GdRu2Si2 are studied using spin-polarized scanning tunneling microscopy (SP-STM). Depending on the applied magnetic field different magnetic phases have been found and the presented measurements are in agreement with the respective previously proposed multi-Q spin textures. In particular the multi-Q nature of the zero magnetic field state, for which previous experiments could not rule out the coexistence of single-Q states, can be confirmed by our spin-resolved measurements on the Si-terminated surface. The surfaces of GdRu2Si2 exhibit strong magnetism-induced modulations of the spin-averaged density of states. We find that while the magnetic contribution to the tunnel signal can be clearly identified for the Si-terminated surface this proves to be much more difficult for the Gd-terminated surface. However, the magnetic field dependent spatial modulations on the Gd-terminated surface demonstrate that additional magnetic phase transitions occur for the surface layer compared to those identified for bulk GdRu2Si2 and possible spin textures are presented.