2007/02/28 by Inga Anita Fischer, I. Fischer, N. Shah +3 · 4 citations
Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #Characterization and Applications of Magnetic Nanoparticles #Magnetic properties of thin films #Theoretical and Computational Physics #cond-mat.soft #cond-mat.str-el
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevb.77.024415
published as Phys. Rev. B 77, 024415 (2008) · 6 pages, 5 figures (published version)
openalex publication_date 2008/01/15 · arxiv created 2008/04/11 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
In chiral ferromagnets, weak spin-orbit interactions twist the ferromagnetic order into spirals, leading to helical order. We investigate an extended Ginzburg-Landau theory of such systems where the helical order is destabilized in favor of crystalline phases. These crystalline phases are based on periodic arrangements of double-twist cylinders and are strongly reminiscent of blue phases in liquid crystals. We discuss the relevance of such blue phases for the phase diagram of the chiral ferromagnet MnSi.