No Arabic abstract
Topological spin structures, such as magnetic skyrmions, hold great promises for data storage applications, thanks to their inherent stability. In most cases, skyrmions are stabilized by magnetic fields in non-centrosymmetric systems displaying the chiral Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya exchange interaction, while spontaneous skyrmion lattices have been reported in centrosymmetric itinerant magnets with long-range interactions. Here, a spontaneous anti-biskyrmion lattice with unique topology and chirality is predicted in the monolayer of a semiconducting and centrosymmetric metal halide, NiI$_2$. Our first-principles and Monte Carlo simulations reveal that the anisotropies of the short-range symmetric exchange, when combined with magnetic frustration, can lead to an emergent chiral interaction that is responsible for the predicted topological spin structures. The proposed mechanism finds a prototypical manifestation in two-dimensional magnets, thus broadening the class of materials that can host spontaneous skyrmionic states.
The coupled nonequilibrium dynamics of electrons and phonons in monolayer MoS2 is investigated by combining first-principles calculations of the electron-phonon and phonon-phonon interaction with the time-dependent Boltzmann equation. Strict phase-space constraints in the electron-phonon scattering are found to influence profoundly the decay path of excited electrons and holes, restricting the emission of phonons to crystal momenta close to few high-symmetry points in the Brillouin zone. As a result of momentum selectivity in the phonon emission, the nonequilibrium lattice dynamics is characterized by the emergence of a highly-anisotropic population of phonons in reciprocal space, which persists for up to 10 ps until thermal equilibrium is restored by phonon-phonon scattering. Achieving control of the nonequilibrium dynamics of the lattice may provide unexplored opportunities to selectively enhance the phonon population of two-dimensional crystals and, thereby, transiently tailor electron-phonon interactions over sub-picosecond time scales.
Magnetism of the $S$ = 1 Heisenberg antiferromagnets on the spatially anisotropic square lattice has been scarcely explored. Here we report a study of the magnetism, specific heat, and thermal conductivity on Ni[SC(NH$_2$)$_2$]$_6$Br$_2$ (DHN) single crystals. Ni$^{2+}$ ions feature an $S$ = 1 rectangular lattice in the $bc$ plane, which can be viewed as an unfrustrated spatially anisotropic square lattice. A long-range antiferromagnetic order is developed at $T rm_N =$ 2.23 K. Below $Trm_N$, an upturn is observed in the $b$-axis magnetic susceptibility and the resultant minimum might be an indication for the $XY$ anisotropy in the ordered state. A gapped spin-wave dispersion is confirmed from the temperature dependence of the magnetic specific heat. Anisotropic temperature-field phase diagrams are mapped out and possible magnetic structures are proposed.
Two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals (vdW) magnets provide an ideal platform for exploring, on the fundamental side, new microscopic mechanisms and for developing, on the technological side, ultra-compact spintronic applications. So far, bilinear spin Hamiltonians have been commonly adopted to investigate the magnetic properties of 2D magnets, neglecting higher order magnetic interactions. However, we here provide quantitative evidence of giant biquadratic exchange interactions in monolayer NiX2 (X=Cl, Br and I), by combining first-principles calculations and the newly developed machine learning method for constructing Hamiltonian. Interestingly, we show that the ferromagnetic ground state within NiCl2 single layers cannot be explained by means of bilinear Heisenberg Hamiltonian; rather, the nearest-neighbor biquadratic interaction is found to be crucial. Furthermore, using a three-orbitals Hubbard model, we propose that the giant biquadratic exchange interaction originates from large hopping between unoccupied and occupied orbitals on neighboring magnetic ions. On a general framework, our work suggests biquadratic exchange interactions to be important in 2D magnets with edge-shared octahedra.
We present thermodynamic and neutron scattering measurements on the quantum spin ice candidate Nd$_2$Zr$_2$O$_7$. The parameterization of the anisotropic exchange Hamiltonian is refined based on high-energy-resolution inelastic neutron scattering data together with thermodynamic data using linear spin wave theory and numerical linked cluster expansion. Magnetic phase diagrams are calculated using classical Monte Carlo simulations with fields along mbox{[100]}, mbox{[110]} and mbox{[111]} crystallographic directions which agree qualitatively with the experiment. Large hysteresis and irreversibility for mbox{[111]} is reproduced and the microscopic mechanism is revealed by mean field calculations to be the existence of metastable states and domain inversion. Our results shed light on the explanations of the recently observed dynamical kagome ice in Nd$_2$Zr$_2$O$_7$ in mbox{[111]} fields.
The Cairo pentagonal lattice, consisting of an irregular pentagonal tiling of magnetic ions on two inequivalent sites (3- and 4-co-ordinated ones), represents a fascinating example for studying geometric frustration effects in two-dimensions. In this work, we investigate the spin $S$ = $1/2$ Cairo pentagonal lattice with respect to selective exchange coupling (which effectively corresponds to a virtual doping of $x$ = $0, 1/6, 1/3$), in a nearest-neighbour antiferromagnetic Ising model. We also develop a simple method to quantify geometric frustration in terms of a frustration index $phi(beta,T)$, where $beta$ = $J/tilde{J}$, the ratio of the two exchange couplings required by the symmetry of the Cairo lattice. At $T = 0$, the undoped Cairo pentagonal lattice shows antiferromagnetic ordering for $beta le beta_{crit} = 2$, but undergoes a first-order transition to a ferrimagnetic phase for $beta >$ $beta_{crit}$. The results show that $phi(beta,T = 0)$ tracks the transition in the form of a cusp maximum at $beta_{crit}$. While both phases show frustration, the obtained magnetic structures reveal that the frustration originates in different bonds for the two phases. The frustration and ferrimagnetic order get quenched by selective exchange coupling, and lead to robust antiferromagnetic ordering for $x$ = 1/6 and 1/3. From mean-field calculations, we determine the temperature-dependent sub-lattice magnetizations for $x$ = $0, 1/6$ and $1/3$. The calculated results are discussed in relation to known experimental results for trivalent Bi$_2$Fe$_4$O$_9$ and mixed valent BiFe$_2$O$_{4.63}$. The study identifies the role of frustration effects, the ratio $beta$ and selective exchange coupling for stabilizing ferrimagnetic versus anti-ferromagnetic order in the Cairo pentagonal lattice.