Abstract
Skyrmions are spatially localized magnetic swirls which carry a nonzero integer topological charge. We study crystals of skyrmions in a two-dimensional ferromagnet model with chiral interactions induced by the presence of broken inversion symmetry. We show that nonlinear quartic mode-coupling terms allowed by symmetry enhance the Zeeman-field range over which the skyrmion-crystal phase remains stable. Furthermore, it leads to a significant dependence of the lattice constant of this spin crystal over this wide field range. Conduction electrons coupled to such a tunable spin crystal are shown to experience a Berry-flux density which varies with the Zeeman field. Such tunable skyrmion crystals provide a distinct realization of a Berry-Hofstadter butterfly, resulting in a phenomenon we term “topological quantum oscillations” in the electronic density of states and associated observables.
- Received 25 October 2018
- Revised 24 September 2019
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.100.174411
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