Neutron diffractive imaging of the skyrmion lattice nucleation in MnSi

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Neutron diffractive imaging of the skyrmion lattice nucleation in MnSi

T. Reimann, A. Bauer, C. Pfleiderer, P. Böni, P. Trtik, A. Tremsin, M. Schulz, and S. Mühlbauer

Phys. Rev. B 97, 020406(R) – Published 12 January 2018

Abstract

Spatially resolved neutron diffractive imaging with a microchannel plate collimator is used to directly map the nucleation of the skyrmion lattice (SkL) of the B20 compound MnSi at the conical to SkL transition as a function of magnetic field. Our study shows a macroscopic phase separation of the SkL and the conical phase at the border of the SkL phase pocket, reveals that the nucleation of the SkL starts at the edges of the sample, and quantifies the bending of the SkL due to demagnetization. Our study highlights the importance of geometric and demagnetizing effects for the SkL formation regarding the unambiguous interpretation of measurements of bulk properties such as possible phase coexistence and crossover regimes.

Received 21 August 2017
Revised 17 December 2017

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.97.020406

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Magnetic phase transitions Magnetism Skyrmions

Neutron diffraction Neutron imaging Small angle neutron scattering

Condensed Matter, Materials & Applied Physics

Authors & Affiliations

T. Reimann^1,2,*, A. Bauer³, C. Pfleiderer³, P. Böni², P. Trtik⁴, A. Tremsin⁵, M. Schulz^1,2, and S. Mühlbauer^1,†

¹Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Zentrum (MLZ), Technische Universität München, Lichtenbergstrasse 1, Garching, Germany
²Physik-Department E21, Technische Universität München, James-Franck-Strasse 1, Garching, Germany
³Physik-Department E51, Technische Universität München, James-Franck-Strasse 1, Garching, Germany
⁴Neutron Imaging and Activation Group, Laboratory for Neutron Scattering and Imaging, Paul Scherrer Institut, Villigen PSI, Switzerland
⁵Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, California, USA

^*tommy.reimann@frm2.tum.de
^†sebastian.muehlbauer@frm2.tum.de

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Vol. 97, Iss. 2 — 1 January 2018

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