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Science 20 January 2006:
Vol. 311. no. 5759, pp. 359 - 361
DOI: 10.1126/science.1120639
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Reports

Real-Space Observation of Helical Spin Order

Masaya Uchida,1* Yoshinori Onose,1{dagger} 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.

1 Spin SuperStructure Project, Exploratory Research for Advanced Technology (ERATO), Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), Tsukuba 305-8562, Japan.
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.

{dagger} 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

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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)