Topological Hall effect and Berry phase in magnetic nanostructures

We discuss the anomalous Hall effect in a two-dimensional electron gas subject to a spatially varying magnetization. This topological Hall effect does not require any spin-orbit coupling and arises solely from Berry phase acquired by an electron moving in a smoothly varying magnetization. We propose...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inPhysical review letters Vol. 93; no. 9; p. 096806
Main Authors Bruno, P, Dugaev, V K, Taillefumier, M
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 27.08.2004
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Summary:We discuss the anomalous Hall effect in a two-dimensional electron gas subject to a spatially varying magnetization. This topological Hall effect does not require any spin-orbit coupling and arises solely from Berry phase acquired by an electron moving in a smoothly varying magnetization. We propose an experiment with a structure containing 2D electrons or holes of diluted magnetic semiconductor subject to the stray field of a lattice of magnetic nanocylinders. The striking behavior predicted for such a system (of which all relevant parameters are well known) allows one to observe unambiguously the topological Hall effect and to distinguish it from other mechanisms.
ISSN:0031-9007
DOI:10.1103/physrevlett.93.096806