Response of the Skyrmion Lattice in MnSi to Cubic Magnetocrystalline Anisotropies

Abstract

We report high-precision small-angle neutron scattering of the orientation of the Skyrmion lattice in a spherical sample of MnSi under systematic changes of the magnetic field direction. For all field directions the Skyrmion lattice may be accurately described as a triple-Q[over →] state, where the modulus |Q[over →]| is constant and the wave vectors enclose rigid angles of 120°. Along a great circle across ⟨100⟩, ⟨110⟩, and ⟨111⟩ the normal to the Skyrmion-lattice plane varies systematically by ±3° with respect to the field direction, while the in-plane alignment displays a reorientation by 15° for magnetic field along ⟨100⟩. Our observations are qualitatively and quantitatively in excellent agreement with an effective potential, which is determined by the symmetries of the tetrahedral point group T and includes contributions up to sixth order in spin-orbit coupling, providing a full account of the effect of cubic magnetocrystalline anisotropies on the Skyrmion lattice in MnSi.