Skyrmions and Spirals in Two-dimensional Chiral Magnets
| Date/Time: | Monday, 31 Mar 2014 from 4:10 pm to 5:00 pm |
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| Location: | Physics 0003 |
| Phone: | 515-294-5441 |
| Channel: | College of Liberal Arts and Sciences |
| Actions: | Download iCal/vCal | Email Reminder |
Abstract
Skyrmions are topological objects that first arose in high-energy physics, but in recent years, through a series of experimental developments, they have become much more important in condensed matter systems, particularly chiral magnetic materials. In this colloquium, I will focus on 2D systems - thin films, surfaces and oxide-interfaces - where a combination of broken inversion symmetry and spin-orbit coupling leads to chiral magnetic interactions. The resulting ground states are very interesting spin textures, like spirals [1] and skyrmion crystals [2]. These have been directly probed using a variety of measurements in several cases and lead to non-trivial properties with the potential for novel applications.
[1] S. Banerjee, O. Erten and M. Randeria, Nature Physics 9, 626 (2013).
[2] S. Banerjee, J. Rowland, O. Erten and M. Randeria, arXiv:1402.7082.
Supported by DOE-BES DE-SC0005035 and NSF MRSEC DMR-0820414.
Bio
Mohit Randeria, Professor of Physics at The Ohio State University, is a condensed matter theorist who has worked on a range of topics including strong correlations and superconductivity, magnetism in oxides, angle-resolved photoemission, and ultra-cold atomic gases. His education was at IIT Delhi, Caltech and Cornell, where he received his PhD. He was awarded the 2002 ICTP Prize for Condensed Matter Physics.