Ferrichiral skyrmions with sublattice-resolved chirality in extended Kitaev model in triangular lattice

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Wen, Bogeng, Cen, Jiefu, Kee, Hae-Young
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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author Wen, Bogeng
Cen, Jiefu
Kee, Hae-Young
author_facet Wen, Bogeng
Cen, Jiefu
Kee, Hae-Young
contents We study an extended Kitaev model on the triangular lattice in a limit where the symmetric off-diagonal bond-dependent and Heisenberg interactions together map onto an XXZ model, in addition to the Kitaev interaction. Within the previously identified $\mathbb{Z}_2$ vortex regime, we uncover a ferrichiral skyrmion phase characterized by a sublattice-resolved scalar chirality: two of the three sublattices carry unit skyrmion charge, while the third remains nonchiral. Using classical Monte Carlo simulations, we show that this ferrichiral skyrmion phase emerges at zero temperature and in the absence of both an external magnetic field and Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interactions, in sharp contrast to conventional skyrmion-hosting systems. The phase is stable over a wide parameter window and persists to relatively high temperatures. Our results reveal an unconventional route to skyrmion physics driven purely by frustrated exchange interactions and highlight the emergence of rich topological structures. Since both XXZ anisotropy and Kitaev interactions originate from the same spin-orbit-coupling mechanism, materials traditionally classified as XXZ magnets are expected to host finite Kitaev interactions as well. The potential for ferrichirality in these systems therefore warrants further investigation.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2601_17121
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Ferrichiral skyrmions with sublattice-resolved chirality in extended Kitaev model in triangular lattice
Wen, Bogeng
Cen, Jiefu
Kee, Hae-Young
Strongly Correlated Electrons
We study an extended Kitaev model on the triangular lattice in a limit where the symmetric off-diagonal bond-dependent and Heisenberg interactions together map onto an XXZ model, in addition to the Kitaev interaction. Within the previously identified $\mathbb{Z}_2$ vortex regime, we uncover a ferrichiral skyrmion phase characterized by a sublattice-resolved scalar chirality: two of the three sublattices carry unit skyrmion charge, while the third remains nonchiral. Using classical Monte Carlo simulations, we show that this ferrichiral skyrmion phase emerges at zero temperature and in the absence of both an external magnetic field and Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interactions, in sharp contrast to conventional skyrmion-hosting systems. The phase is stable over a wide parameter window and persists to relatively high temperatures. Our results reveal an unconventional route to skyrmion physics driven purely by frustrated exchange interactions and highlight the emergence of rich topological structures. Since both XXZ anisotropy and Kitaev interactions originate from the same spin-orbit-coupling mechanism, materials traditionally classified as XXZ magnets are expected to host finite Kitaev interactions as well. The potential for ferrichirality in these systems therefore warrants further investigation.
title Ferrichiral skyrmions with sublattice-resolved chirality in extended Kitaev model in triangular lattice
topic Strongly Correlated Electrons
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.17121