Isotropic Nature of the Metallic Kagome Ferromagnet Fe3Sn2 at High Temperatures

Abstract

Anisotropy and competing exchange interactions have emerged as two central ingredients needed for centrosymmetric materials to exhibit topological spin textures. Fe₃Sn₂ is thought to have these ingredients as well, as it has recently been discovered to host room temperature skyrmionic bubbles with an accompanying topological Hall effect. We present small-angle inelastic neutron scattering measurements that unambiguously show that Fe₃Sn₂ is an isotropic ferromagnet below $T_C\approx 660\text{K}$ to at least 480 K - the lower temperature threshold of our experimental configuration. Fe₃Sn₂ is known to have competing magnetic exchange interactions, correlated electron behavior, weak magnetocrystalline anisotropy, and lattice anisotropy; all of these features are thought to play a role in stabilizing skyrmions in centrosymmetric systems. Our results reveal that at elevated temperatures, there is an absence of magnetocrystalline anisotropy and that the system behaves as a typical exchange ferromagnet with a spin stiffness $D\left(T=0\text{K}\right)=271\pm 9\text{meV}{\text{Å}}^2$.

Keywords: anomalous Hall effect; frustrated magnetism; inelastic neutron scattering; isotropic ferromagnet; kagome; skyrmion; topological materials.