Scientific Achievement
We mapped the temperature and field locus of the topological Hall effect in centro-symmetric YMn6S6 and explained its origin through population of chiral magnons.
Significance and Impact
Fluctuation-driven chiral nematicity represents a completely new approach for generating a topological Hall current, distinct from skyrmionic or non-coplanar mechanisms because it emerges from a nonchiral static spin configuration.
Research Details
- Single crystal neutron diffraction in field reveals cascading set of magnetic phase transitions.
- DFT calculations explain the progression of observed magnetic phases.
- Phenomenological theory explains topological Hall signal as arising from strong nematic chiral fluctuations.
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