Export citation

Export citation

Choose format for download:

Download Citation
  • Editors' Suggestion
  • Rapid Communication
  • Access by Xinjiang University

Anomalous pinning fields in itinerant helical magnets: Screening of the quasiparticle interaction

T. R. Kirkpatrick1 and D. Belitz2

  • 1Institute for Physical Science and Technology and Department of Physics, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, USA
  • 2Department of Physics, Institute of Theoretical Science, and Materials Science Institute, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon 97403, USA

Phys. Rev. B 80, 220401(R) – Published 2 December, 2009

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.80.220401

Abstract

The spin-orbit interaction strength gso in helical magnets determines both the pitch wave number q and the critical field Hc1 where the helix aligns with an external magnetic field. Within a standard Landau-Ginzburg-Wilson (LGW) theory, a determination of gso in MnSi and FeGe from these two observables yields values that differ by a factor of 20. This discrepancy is remedied by considering the fermionic theory underlying the LGW theory and in particular the effects of screening on the effective electron-electron interaction that results from an exchange of helical fluctuations.

Article Text

References (27)

  1. Y. Ishikawa, K. Tajima, D. Bloch, and M. Roth, Solid State Commun. 19, 525 (1976).
  2. C. Pfleiderer, G. J. McMullan, S. R. Julian, and G. G. Lonzarich, Phys. Rev. B 55, 8330 (1997).
  3. B. Lebech, J. Bernhard, and T. Freltoft, J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 1, 6105 (1989).
  4. T. Moriya, Phys. Rev. 120, 91 (1960).
  5. I. Dzyaloshinsky, J. Phys. Chem. Solids 4, 241 (1958).
  6. Y. Ishikawa, Y. Noda, Y. J. Uemura, C. F. Majkrzak, and G. Shirane, Phys. Rev. B 31, 5884 (1985).
  7. C. Pfleiderer, S. R. Julian, and G. G. Lonzarich, Nature (London) 414, 427 (2001).
  8. P. Bak and M. H. Jensen, J. Phys. C 13, L881 (1980).
  9. S.-K. Ma, Modern Theory of Critical Phenomena (Benjamin, Reading, MA, 1976).
  10. For MnSi, the Fermi temperature is TF147000K, and the effective electron mass averaged over the Fermi surface is me4me, with me as the free-electron mass. Within a nearly free-electron model, this yields kF3.6Å1. The Stoner gap was found to be λ3300K in a band structure calculation. We note that the values for TF and λ quoted in Ref. 16 were too small by a factor of 6.24, and the value for kF was too small by a factor of 6.242.5. In FeGe, TF is known only in the hexagonal phase, where TF90000K (Ref. 26) and me is not known.
  11. Throughout this Rapid Communication we ignore factors of two in our estimates as many parameters that enter the model calculations are not known to a better accuracy anwyay.
  12. S. Mühlbauer, B. Binz, F. Jonietz, C. Pfleiderer, A. Rosch, A. Neubauer, R. Georgii, and P. Böni, Science 323, 915 (2009).
  13. M. L. Plumer and M. B. Walker, J. Phys. C 14, 4689 (1981).
  14. D. Belitz and T. R. Kirkpatrick (unpublished).
  15. Here “bare” refers to the fact that the coupling between magnetic and fermionic degrees of freedom has not been taken into account. The length scale that determines the bare coefficient a, and hence also bare b may or may not be taken to be renormalized from its microscopic value (1/kF) to its physical value (related to Tc); this affects neither the problem we discuss nor its solution.
  16. D. Belitz, T. R. Kirkpatrick, and A. Rosch, Phys. Rev. B 73, 054431 (2006).
  17. In Ref. 16 the effect of b0 was taken into account qualitatively and for b>0 only. The result given here follows from analyzing the Gaussian fluctuations about a helical state pinned in (1,1,1) direction due to b<0.
  18. J. Hertz, Phys. Rev. B 14, 1165 (1976).
  19. D. Belitz, T. R. Kirkpatrick, and A. Rosch, Phys. Rev. B 74, 024409 (2006).
  20. T. R. Kirkpatrick, D. Belitz, and R. Saha, Phys. Rev. B 78, 094407 (2008).
  21. A. L. Fetter and J. D. Walecka, Quantum Theory of Many-Particle Systems (McGraw-Hill, New York, 1971).
  22. As an alternative to this many-body calculation, one can consider a coupled field theory for the helimagnetic and fermionic degrees of freedom, respectively, in analogy to the theory of ferromagnets developed in Ref. 27, and perform a renormalization-group analysis. In either case, the result is Eq. (9).
  23. L. Taillefer, G. Lonzarich, and P. Strange, J. Magn. Magn. Mater. 54-57, 957 (1986).
  24. O. Nakanishi, A. Yanase, and A. Hasegawa, J. Magn. Magn. Mater. 15-18, 879 (1980).
  25. G. G. Lonzarich and L. Taillefer, J. Phys. C 18, 4339 (1985).
  26. H. Nazareno, G. Carabelli, and J.-L. Calais, J. Phys. C 4, 2052 (1971).
  27. D. Belitz, T. R. Kirkpatrick, M. T. Mercaldo, and S. L. Sessions, Phys. Rev. B 63, 174427 (2001).

Outline

Information

Sign In to Your Journals Account

Filter

Filter

Article Lookup

Enter a citation