Real-Space Observation of Helical Spin Order
Masaya Uchida,1*
Yoshinori Onose,1
Yoshio Matsui,2
Yoshinori Tokura1,3,4
Helical spin order in magnetic materials has been investigated
only in reciprocal space. We visualized the helical spin order
and dynamics in a metal silicide in real space by means of Lorentz
electron microscopy. The real space of the helical spin order
proves to be much richer than that expected from the averaged
structure; it exhibits a variety of magnetic defects similar
to atomic dislocations in the crystal lattice. The application
of magnetic fields allows us to directly observe the deformation
processes of the helical spin order accompanied by nucleation,
movement, and annihilation of the magnetic defects.
2 Advanced Materials Laboratory, National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), Tsukuba 305-0044, Japan.
3 Correlated Electron Research Center (CERC), National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tsukuba 305-8562, Japan.
4 Department of Applied Physics, University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8656, Japan.
Present address: Department of Physics, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08543, USA.
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: uchida.masaya{at}aist.go.jp
