Mixed topology ring states for Hall effect and orbital magnetism in skyrmions of Weyl semimetals

Abstract

Skyrmion lattices as a novel type of chiral spin states are attracting increasing attention, owing to their peculiar properties stemming from real-space topological properties. At the same time, the properties of magnetic Weyl semimetals with complex k-space topology are moving into the focus of research in spintronics. We consider the Hall transport properties and orbital magnetism of skyrmion lattices imprinted in topological semimetals, by employing a minimal model of a 2D mixed Weyl semimetal which, as a function of the magnetization direction, exhibits two Chern insulator phases separated by a Weyl state for an an in-plane magnetization direction. We find that while the orbital magnetization is topologically robust and Hall transport properties are very sensitive to the details of the spin distribution in accordance to the behavior expected from the recently discovered chiral Hall effect 1 , their behavior in the region of the Chern insulator gap is largely determined by the properties of the so-called mixed topology ring states, emerging in domain walls that separate the skyrmion core from the ferromagnetic background. In particular, we show that these localized ring states possess a given orbital chirality which reverses sign as a function of the skyrmion radius, thereby mediating a smooth switching dynamics of the orbital magnetization of the skyrmion lattice. We speculate that while the emergent ring states can possibly play a role in the physics of Majorana states, probing their properties experimentally can provide insights into the details of skyrmionic spin structures.

Topological phase transition driven by magnetic field and topological Hall effect in an antiferromagnetic skyrmion lattice

“…In order to inspect in more detail the effects of the transition, we calculate the electronic occupation n r = u 1 (k)| d † r dr |u 1 (k) within the unit cell at Γ point for the lowest band for B/J = 2.4 and 4.6. In the low-field region it is strongly confined around the anti-ferromagnetic skyrmion center in a ring-like configuration [49] (Fig. 4a).…”