First-principles calculations for Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction

Abstract

Understanding the magnetic interactions is of fundamental importance in condensed-matter physics as well as in the application of spintronic devices. In the past 13 years, the Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction (DMI) has attracted increasing attention, as it can trigger topological chiral magnetism, such as magnetic skyrmions, which is of particular interest from both fundamental and applied points of view. First-principles calculations have played an essential role in figuring out the microscopic properties of DMI and helped to search for the materials with strong DMI. In this Technical Review, we present a comprehensive and systematic survey of the first-principles-calculations methods for DMI, along with an overview of the first-principles calculations of the DMI properties of typical material systems and the DMI-induced magnetic phenomena. The Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction is an exchange coupling that appears in magnetic systems with spin–orbit coupling. This Technical Review systematically surveys first-principles-calculations methods for DMI in different material systems and for a range of induced magnetic phenomena.