Anisotropy driven response of skyrmion lattice in MnSc2S4 to applied magnetic fields
Abstract
We theoretically and experimentally study the stability of the unconventional fractional antiferromagnetic skyrmion lattice (AF-SkL) in Mn2S4 spinel under magnetic fields applied along the [1-10] crystal direction. By performing numerical Monte Carlo simulations for the minimal effective spin model that we proposed in Ref. [S. Gao, et al., Nature 586, 37-41 (2020)], we show that the skyrmion lattice is aligned within the equivalent and symmetric [1-11] or [1-11] planes, which are equally inclined to the applied magnetic field. We attribute this behavior to the magnetic anisotropy of the host material. Neutron single crystal diffraction presents a very good agreement with the predictions of the effective model. It reveals that the topological spin texture gets destabilized at low temperatures and moderate magnetic fields and is replaced by a conical phase for B// [1-10]. The present study elucidates the central role of the magnetic anisotropy in the stabilization of antiferromagnetic skyrmionic states.
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