Distorted <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:mrow><mml:mn>3</mml:mn><mml:mi>Q</mml:mi></mml:mrow></mml:math> state driven by topological-chiral magnetic interactions

Abstract

We predict the occurrence of unexpected magnetic ground states in ultrathin Mn films due to the frustration of higher-order interactions. Based on density functional theory we show that significant chiral-chiral interactions occur in hexagonal Mn monolayers due to large topological orbital moments which interact with the emergent magnetic field. Due to the competition with biquadratic and four-spin interactions superposition states of spin spirals such as the $2Q$ state or a distorted $3Q$ state arise. Simulations of spin-polarized scanning tunneling microscopy images suggest that the distorted $3Q$ state could be the magnetic ground state of a Mn monolayer on Re(0001).

Topics & Concepts