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Local Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya Interactions Driving Quasi-2D Magnetism in a Centrosymmetric Nanoskyrmion Material
Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 076706 – Published 14 August, 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/td2c-dxgj
Abstract
The unabating discovery of nanoskyrmions in centrosymmetric magnets challenges the conventional Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya (DM) skyrmion stabilization mechanism. We investigate using polarized resonant x-ray scattering and find that the low-field incommensurate modulations are elliptical helices, evolving into spin-density waves at higher fields. Quasi-2D magnetism arises via local DM interactions generated by inversion symmetry breaking around Gd-Gd bonds, which we characterize using atomistic simulations. Our findings suggest a prominent “hidden” role of DM interactions even in centrosymmetric skyrmionic hosts.
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