Chiral magnets with topologically nontrivial spin order such as Skyrmions have generated enormous interest in both fundamental and applied sciences. We report broadband microwave spectroscopy performed on the insulating chiral ferrimagnet Cu$_{2}$OSeO$_{3}$. For the damping of magnetization dynamics we find a remarkably small Gilbert damping parameter of about $1times10^{-4}$ at 5 K. This value is only a factor of 4 larger than the one reported for the best insulating ferrimagnet yttrium iron garnet. We detect a series of sharp resonances and attribute them to confined spin waves in the mm-sized samples. Considering the small damping, insulating chiral magnets turn out to be promising candidates when exploring non-collinear spin structures for high frequency applications.
Linear dichroism -- the polarization dependent absorption of electromagnetic waves -- is routinely exploited in applications as diverse as structure determination of DNA or polarization filters in optical technologies. Here filamentary absorbers with a large length-to-width ratio are a prerequisite. For magnetization dynamics in the few GHz frequency regime strictly linear dichroism was not observed for more than eight decades. Here, we show that the bulk chiral magnet Cu$_{2}$OSeO$_{3}$ exhibits linearly polarized magnetization dynamics at an unexpectedly small frequency of about 2 GHz. Unlike optical filters that are assembled from filamentary absorbers, the magnet provides linear polarization as a bulk material for an extremely wide range of length-to-width ratios. In addition, the polarization plane of a given mode can be switched by 90$^circ$ via a tiny variation in width. Our findings shed a new light on magnetization dynamics in that ferrimagnetic ordering combined with anisotropic exchange interaction offers strictly linear polarization and cross-polarized modes for a broad spectrum of sample shapes. The discovery allows for novel design rules and optimization of microwave-to-magnon transduction in emerging microwave technologies.
We present an investigation into the structural and magnetic properties of Zn-substituted Cu$_{2}$OSeO$_{3}$, a system in which the skyrmion lattice (SkL) phase in the magnetic field-temperature phase diagram was previously seen to split as a function of increasing Zn concentration. We find that splitting of the SkL is only observed in polycrystalline samples and reflects the occurrence of several coexisting phases with different Zn content, each distinguished by different magnetic behaviour. No such multiphase behaviour is observed in single crystal samples.
Less common ligand coordination of transition-metal centers is often associated with peculiar valence-shell electron configurations and outstanding physical properties. One example is the Fe$^+$ ion with linear coordination, actively investigated in the research area of single-molecule magnetism. Here we address the nature of 3$d^9$ states for Cu$^{2+}$ ions sitting in the center of trigonal bipyramidal ligand cages in the quasi-two-dimensional honeycomb compound InCu$_{2/3}$V$_{1/3}$O$_3$, whose unusual magnetic properties were intensively studied in the recent past. In particular, we discuss the interplay of structural effects, electron correlations, and spin-orbit couplings in this material. A relevant computational finding is a different sequence of the Cu ($xz$, $yz$) and ($xy$, $x^2!-!y^2$) levels as compared to existing electronic-structure models, which has implications for the interpretation of various excitation spectra. Spin-orbit interactions, both first- and second-order, turn out to be stronger than previously assumed, suggesting that rather rich single-ion magnetic properties can be in principle achieved also for the 3$d^9$ configuration by properly adjusting the sequence of crystal-field states for such less usual ligand coordination.
We present the muon spin relaxation/rotation spectra in the multiferroic compound (Cu,Zn)$_{3}$Mo$_{2}$O$_{9}$. The parent material Cu$_{3}$Mo$_{2}$O$_{9}$ has a multiferroic phase below $T_{rm N}$ = 8.0 K, where the canted antiferromagnetism and the ferroelectricity coexist. The asymmetry time spectra taken at RIKEN-RAL pulsed muon facility show a drastic change at $T_{rm N}$. At low temperatures the weakly beating oscillation caused by the static internal magnetic fields in the antiferromagnetic phase was observed in Cu$_{3}$Mo$_{2}$O$_{9}$ and the lightly ($0.5%$) Zn-doped sample. From the fitting of the oscillating term, we obtain the order parameter in these samples: ferromagnetic moment in two sublattices of antiferromagnet. In the heavily ($5.0%$) Zn-doped sample, the muon-spin oscillation is rapidly damped. The frequency-domain spectrum of this sample suggests a formation of magnetic superstructure.
We report a comprehensive neutron scattering study of low energy magnetic excitations in the breathing pyrochlore helimagnetic $text{Cu}_2text{OSeO}_3$. Fully documenting the four lowest energy magnetic modes that leave the ferrimagnetic configuration of the strong tetrahedra intact ($|hbaromega|<13$ meV), we find gapless quadratic dispersion at the $Gamma$ point for energies above 0.2 meV, two doublets separated by 1.6(2) meV at the $R$ point, and a bounded continuum at the $X$ point. Our constrained rigid spin cluster model relates these features to Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya (DM) interactions and the incommensurate helical ground state. Combining conventional spin wave theory with a spin cluster form-factor accurately reproduces the measured equal time structure factor through multiple Brillouin zones. An effective spin Hamiltonian describing the complex anisotropic inter-cluster interactions is obtained.