Phase Coexistence of Mn Trimer Clusters and Antiferromagnetic Mn Islands on Ir(111).

Clusters supported by solid substrates are prime candidates for heterogeneous catalysis and can be prepared in various ways. While mass-selected soft-landing methods are often used for the generation of monodisperse particles, self-assembly typically leads to a range of different cluster sizes. Here we show by scanning tunneling microscopy measurements that in the initial stages of growth, Mn forms trimers on a close-packed hexagonal Ir surface, providing a route for self-organized monodisperse cluster formation on an isotropic metallic surface.

Nano-scale collinear multi-Q states driven by higher-order interactions.

Complex magnetic order arises due to the competition of different interactions between the magnetic moments. Recently, there has been an increased interest in such states not only to unravel the fundamental physics involved, but also with regards to applications exploiting their unique interplay with moving electrons. Whereas it is the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) that has attracted much attention because of its nature to induce non-collinear magnetic order including magnetic-field stabilized skyrmions, it is the frustration of exchange interactions that can drive magnetic order down to the nano-scale.

Discovery and characterization of a new type of domain wall in a row-wise antiferromagnet.

Antiferromagnets have recently moved into the focus of application-related research, with the perspective to use them in future spintronics devices. At the same time the experimental determination of the detailed spin texture remains challenging. Here we use spin-polarized scanning tunneling microscopy to investigate the spin structure of antiferromagnetic domain walls.

Discovery of Magnetic Single- and Triple-q States in Mn/Re(0001).

We experimentally verify the existence of two model-type magnetic ground states that were previously predicted but so far unobserved. We find them in Mn monolayers on the Re(0001) surface using spin-polarized scanning tunneling microscopy. For fcc stacking of Mn the collinear row-wise antiferromagnetic state occurs, whereas for hcp Mn a three-dimensional spin structure appears, which is a superposition of three row-wise antiferromagnetic states known as the triple-q state.

Plumbene on a Magnetic Substrate: A Combined Scanning Tunneling Microscopy and Density Functional Theory Study.

As a heavy analog of graphene, plumbene is a two-dimensional material with strong spin-orbit coupling effects. Using scanning tunneling microscopy, we observe that Pb forms a flat honeycomb lattice on an Fe monolayer on Ir(111). In contrast, without the Fe layer, a c(2×4) structure of Pb on Ir(111) is found.