Fan-type spin structure in uni-axial chiral magnets

Abstract

We investigate the spin structure of a uni-axial chiral magnet near the transition temperatures in low fields perpendicular to the helical axis. We find a fan-type modulation structure where the clockwise and counterclockwise windings appear alternatively along the propagation direction of the modulation structure. This structure is often realized in a Yoshimori-type (non-chiral) helimagnet but it is rarely realized in a chiral helimagnet. To discuss underlying physics of this structure, we reconsider the phase diagram (phase boundary and crossover lines) through the free energy and asymptotic behaviors of isolated solitons. The fan structure appears slightly below the phase boundary of the continuous transition of instability-type. In this region, there are no solutions containing any types of isolated solitons to the mean field equations.