Gyrotropic elastic response of skyrmion crystals to current-induced tensions

Abstract

We theoretically study the dynamics of skyrmion crystals in electrically insulating chiral magnets subjected to current- induced spin torques by adjacent metallic layers. We develop an elasticity theory that accounts for the gyrotropic force engendered by the nontrivial topology of the spin texture, tensions at the boundaries due to the exchange of linear and spin angular momentum with the metallic reservoirs, and dissipation in the bulk of the film. A steady translation of the skyrmion crystal is triggered by the current- induced tensions and subsequently sustained by dissipative forces, generating an electromotive force on itinerant spins in the metals. This phenomenon should be revealed as a negative drag in an open two- terminal geometry, or equivalently, as a positive magnetoresistance when the terminals are connected in parallel. We propose nonlocal transport measurements with these salient features as a tool to characterize the phase diagram of insulating chiral magnets.