Meron-Mediated Phase Transitions in Quasi-Two-Dimensional Chiral Magnets with Easy-Plane Anisotropy: Successive Transformation of the Hexagonal Skyrmion Lattice into the Square Lattice and into the Tilted FM State

I revisit the well-known structural transition between hexagonal and square skyrmion lattices and subsequent first-order phase transition into the tilted ferromagnetic state as induced by the increasing easy-plane anisotropy in quasi-two-dimensional chiral magnets. I show that the hexagonal skyrmion order first transforms into a rhombic skyrmion lattice, which, adjusts into a perfect square arrangement of skyrmions (“a square meron-antimeron crystal”) within a narrow range of anisotropy values. These transitions are mediated by merons and anti-merons emerging in the boundaries between skyrmion cells; energetically unfavorable anti-merons annihilate, whereas pairs of neighboring merons merge. The tilted ferromagnetic state sets in via mutual annihilation of oppositely charged merons; as an outcome, it contains bimeron clusters (chains) with the attracting inter-soliton potential. Additionally, I demonstrate that domain-wall merons are actively involved in the dynamic response of the square skyrmion lattices. As an example, I theoretically study spin–wave modes and their excitations by AC magnetic fields. Two found resonance peaks are the result of the complex dynamics of the domain-wall merons; whereas in the high-frequency mode the merons rotate counterclockwise, as one might expect, in the low-frequency mode merons are instead created and annihilated consistently with the rotational motion of the domain boundaries.