No Arabic abstract
A quantized version of the magnetoelectric effect, known as the topological magnetoelectric effect, can exist in a time-reversal invariant topological insulator with all its surface states gapped out by magnetism. This topological phase, called the axion insulator phase, has been theoretically proposed but is still lack of conclusive experimental evidence due to the small signal of topological magnetoelectric effect. In this work, we propose that the dynamical in-plane magnetization in an axion insulator can generate a pseudo-electric field, which acts on the surface state of topological insulator films and leads to the non-zero response current. Strikingly, we find that the current at magnetic resonance (either ferromagnetic or anti-ferromagnetic) is larger than that of topological magnetoelectric effect by several orders of magnitude, and thereby serves as a feasible smoking gun to confirm the axion insulator phase in the candidate materials.
We consider the electrical current through a magnetic point contact in the limit of a strong inelastic scattering of electrons. In this limit local Joule heating of the contact region plays a decisive role in determining the transport properties of the point contact. We show that if an applied constant bias voltage exceeds a critical value, the stationary state of the system is unstable, and that periodic, non-harmonic oscillations in time of both the electrical current through the contact and the local temperature in the contact region develop spontaneously. Our estimations show that the necessary experimental conditions for observing such oscillations with characteristic frequencies in the range $10^8 div 10^9$ Hz can easily be met. We also show a possibility to manipulate upon the magnetization direction of a magnetic grain coupled through a point contact to a bulk ferromagnetic by exciting the above-mentioned thermal-electric oscillations.
Neutron diffraction is used to probe the (H,T) phase diagram of magneto-electric (ME) LiNiPO4 for magnetic fields along the c-axis. At zero field the Ni spins order in two antiferromagnetic phases. One has commensurate (C) structures and general ordering vectors (0,0,0), the other one is incommensurate (IC) with ordering vector (0,q,0). At low temperatures the C order collapses above 12 Tesla and adopts an IC structure with modulation vector parallel to (0,q,0). We show that C order is required for the ME effect and establish how electric polarization results from a field-induced reduction of the total magneto-elastic energy.
We derive an effective field theory model for magnetic topological insulators and predict that a magnetic electronic gap persists on the surface for temperatures above the ordering temperature of the bulk. Our analysis also applies to interfaces of heterostructures consisting of a ferromagnetic and a topological insulator. In order to make quantitative predictions for MnBi$_2$Te$_4$, and for EuS-Bi$_2$Se$_3$ heterostructures, we combine the effective field theory method with density functional theory and Monte Carlo simulations. For MnBi$_2$Te$_4$ we predict an upwards Neel temperature shift at the surface up to $15 %$, while the EuS-Bi$_2$Se$_3$ interface exhibits a smaller relative shift. The effective theory also predicts induced Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interactions and a topological magnetoelectric effect, both of which feature a finite temperature and chemical potential dependence.
Considerable evidence suggests that variations in the properties of topological insulators (TIs) at the nanoscale and at interfaces can strongly affect the physics of topological materials. Therefore, a detailed understanding of surface states and interface coupling is crucial to the search for and applications of new topological phases of matter. Currently, no methods can provide depth profiling near surfaces or at interfaces of topologically inequivalent materials. Such a method could advance the study of interactions. Herein we present a non-invasive depth-profiling technique based on $beta$-NMR spectroscopy of radioactive $^8$Li$^+$ ions that can provide one-dimensional imaging in films of fixed thickness and generates nanoscale views of the electronic wavefunctions and magnetic order at topological surfaces and interfaces. By mapping the $^8$Li nuclear resonance near the surface and 10 nm deep into the bulk of pure and Cr-doped bismuth antimony telluride films, we provide signatures related to the TI properties and their topological non-trivial characteristics that affect the electron-nuclear hyperfine field, the metallic shift and magnetic order. These nanoscale variations in $beta$-NMR parameters reflect the unconventional properties of the topological materials under study, and understanding the role of heterogeneities is expected to lead to the discovery of novel phenomena involving quantum materials.
The electric field (EF) effect on the magnetic domain structure of a Pt/Co system was studied, where an EF was applied to the top surface of the Co layer. The width of the maze domain was significantly modified by the application of the EF at a temperature slightly below the Curie temperature. After a detailed analysis, a change in the exchange stiffness induced by the EF application was suggested to dominate the modulation of the domain width observed in the experiment. The accumulation of electrons at the surface of the Co layer resulted in an increase of the exchange stiffness and the Curie temperature. The result was consistent with the recent theoretical prediction.