TY  - JOUR
AU  - Zimmermann, Bernd
AU  - Heide, Marcus
AU  - Bihlmayer, Gustav
AU  - Blügel, Stefan
TI  - First-principles analysis of a homochiral cycloidal magnetic structure in a monolayer Cr on W(110)
JO  - Physical review / B
VL  - 90
IS  - 11
SN  - 1098-0121
CY  - College Park, Md.
PB  - APS
M1  - FZJ-2014-04972
SP  - 115427
PY  - 2014
AB  - The magnetic structure of a Cr monolayer on a W(110) substrate is investigated by means of first-principles calculations based on noncollinear spin density functional theory (DFT). As magnetic ground state we find a long-period homochiral left-rotating spin spiral on top of an atomic-scale antiferromagnetic order of nearest-neighbor atoms. The rotation angle of the magnetic moment changes inhomogeneously from atom to atom across the spiral. We predict a propagation direction along the crystallographic [001] direction with a period length of |λ|=14.3nm, which is in excellent agreement with a modulation of the local antiferromagnetic contrast observed in spin-polarized scanning tunneling microscope experiments by Santos et al. [New J. Phys. 10, 013005 (2008)]. We identify the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction as the origin of the homochiral magnetic structure, competing with the Heisenberg-type exchange interaction and magnetocrystalline anisotropy energy. From DFT calculations we extract parameters for a micromagnetic model and thereby determine a considerable inhomogeneity of the spin spiral, increasing the period length by 6% compared to homogeneous spin spirals. The results are compared to the behavior of a Mn and Fe monolayer and Fe double layer on a W(110) substrate.
LB  - PUB:(DE-HGF)16
UR  - <Go to ISI:>//WOS:000344015700011
DO  - DOI:10.1103/PhysRevB.90.115427
UR  - https://juser.fz-juelich.de/record/156098
ER  -