New Microscopic Magnetic Hamiltonian for Exotic Spin Textures in Metals

Abstract: We derive a new microscopic spin Hamiltonian for Rashba-coupled double exchange metals. The Hamiltonian consists of anisotropic interactions of the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya (DM) and Kitaev form, in addition to the standard isotropic term. We validate the spin Hamiltonian by comparing results with those on the exact spin-fermion model, and present its phase diagram using large scale Monte Carlo simulations. In addition to ferromagnetic, planar spiral and flux states, the model hosts skyrmion crystal and classical spin-liquid states characterized, respectively, by multiple peaks and a diffuse ring pattern in the spin structure factor. The filamentary domain wall structures in the spin-liquid state are in remarkable agreement with experimental data on thin films of MnSi-type B20 metals and transition metals and their alloys.