The temperature dependence of the manganese magnetic moment and the spin-lattice relaxation rate measured by the muon spin relaxation technique in the magnetically ordered phase of the chiral intermetallic cubic MnSi system are both explained in terms of helimagnon excitations of a localized spin model. The two free parameters characterizing the helimagnon dispersion relation are determined. A combined analysis of the two data sets cannot be achieved using the self-consistent renormalization theory of spin fluctuations which assumes the magnetism of MnSi to arise uniquely from electronic bands. As a result of this work, MnSi is proposed to be a dual electronic system composed of localized and itinerant magnetic electrons. Finally we note that the analysis framework can be applied to other helimagnets such as the magnetoelectric compound Cu2OSeO3.
We report on our investigation on the magnetism of the iridate double perovskite Sr$_2$CoIrO$_6$, a nominally Ir$^{5+}$ Van Vleck $J_{eff}=0$ system. Using x-ray absorption (XAS) and x-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) spectroscopy at the Ir-$L_{2,3}$ edges, we found a nearly zero orbital contribution to the magnetic moment and thus an apparent breakdown of the $J_{eff}=0$ ground state. By carrying out also XAS and XMCD experiments at the Co-$L_{2,3}$ edges and by performing detailed full atomic multiplet calculations to simulate all spectra, we discovered that the compound consists of about 90% Ir$^{5+}$ ($J_{eff}=0$) and Co$^{3+}$ ($S=2$) and 10% Ir$^{6+}$ ($S=3/2$) and Co$^{2+}$ ($S=3/2$). The magnetic signal of this minority Ir$^{6+}$ component is almost equally strong as that of the main Ir$^{5+}$ component. We infer that there is a competition between the Ir$^{5+}$-Co$^{3+}$ and the Ir$^{6+}$-Co$^{2+}$ configurations in this stoichiometric compound.
We develop a theory for the electronic excitations in UPt$_3$ which is based on the localization of two of the $5f$ electrons. The remaining $f$ electron is delocalized and acquires a large effective mass by inducing intra-atomic excitations of the localized ones. The measured deHaas-vanAlphen frequencies of the heavy quasiparticles are explained as well as their anisotropic heavy mass. A model calculation for a small cluster reveals why only the largest of the different $5f$ hopping matrix elements is operative causing the electrons in other orbitals to localize.
We report an experimental study of the emergence of non-trivial topological winding and long-range order across the paramagnetic to skyrmion lattice transition in the transition metal helimagnet MnSi. Combining measurements of the susceptibility with small angle neutron scattering, neutron resonance spin echo spectroscopy and all-electrical microwave spectroscopy, we find evidence of skyrmion textures in the paramagnetic state exceeding $10^3$AA with lifetimes above several 10$^{-9}$s. Our experimental findings establish that the paramagnetic to skyrmion lattice transition in MnSi is well-described by the Landau soft-mode mechanism of weak crystallization, originally proposed in the context of the liquid to crystal transition. As a key aspect of this theoretical model, the modulation-vectors of periodic small amplitude components of the magnetization form triangles that add to zero. In excellent agreement with our experimental findings, these triangles of the modulation-vectors entail the presence of the non-trivial topological winding of skyrmions already in the paramagnetic state of MnSi when approaching the skyrmion lattice transition.
We report comprehensive small angle neutron scattering (SANS) measurements complemented by ac susceptibility data of the helical order, conical phase and skyrmion lattice phase (SLP) in MnSi under uniaxial pressures. For all crystallographic orientations uniaxial pressure favours the phase for which a spatial modulation of the magnetization is closest to the pressure axis. Uniaxial pressures as low as 1kbar applied perpendicular to the magnetic field axis enhance the skyrmion lattice phase substantially, whereas the skyrmion lattice phase is suppressed for pressure parallel to the field. Taken together we present quantitative microscopic information how strain couples to magnetic order in the chiral magnet MnSi.
Using two cold-neutron triple-axis spectrometers we have succeeded in fully mapping out the field-dependent evolution of the non-reciprocal magnon dispersion relations in all magnetic phases of MnSi. The non-reciprocal nature of the dispersion manifests itself in a full asymmetry (non-reciprocity) of the dynamical structure factor $S(q, E, mu_0 H_{int})$ with respect to flipping either the direction of the applied magnetic field $mu_0 H_{int}$, the reduced momentum transfer $q$, or the energy transfer $E$.