Antiferromagnetic skyrmion crystals: Generation, topological Hall, and topological spin Hall effect

Abstract

Skyrmions are topologically nontrivial, magnetic quasiparticles that are characterized by a topological charge. A regular array of skyrmions, a skyrmion crystal (SkX), features the topological Hall effect (THE) of electrons, which, in turn, gives rise to the Hall effect of the skyrmions themselves. It is commonly believed that antiferromagnetic skyrmion crystals (AFM-SkXs) lack both effects. In this Rapid Communication, we present a generally applicable method to create stable AFM-SkXs by growing a two-sublattice SkX onto a collinear antiferromagnet. As an example we show that both types of skyrmion crystals, conventional and antiferromagnetic, exist in honeycomb lattices. While AFM-SkXs with equivalent lattice sites do not show a THE, they exhibit a topological spin Hall effect. On top of this, AFM-SkXs on inequivalent sublattices exhibit a nonzero THE, which may be utilized in spintronics devices. Our theoretical findings call for experimental realization.