What stabilizes skyrmion lattices in centrosymmetric magnets like $\mathrm{Gd_2PdSi_3}$?
In plain words
Most skyrmions appear in crystals lacking mirror symmetry, where a twisting interaction favors them. $\mathrm{Gd_2PdSi_3}$ and $\mathrm{GdRu_2Si_2}$ have that symmetry yet host very small skyrmions, and the competing explanations involve geometric frustration or interactions carried by conduction electrons.
Precise statement
For $\mathrm{Gd_2PdSi_3}$ (triangular) and $\mathrm{GdRu_2Si_2}$ (tetragonal), with skyrmion-lattice periods of about 2 to 3 nm, determine which mechanism stabilizes the multi-$q$ state: frustrated RKKY couplings, Fermi-surface-driven biquadratic and four-spin interactions, or dipolar and anisotropy effects. An answer is a microscopic model derived from the measured band structure that reproduces the field-temperature phase diagram and the modulation vectors.
What would settle it
Ab initio spin models compared with resonant x-ray and neutron data over the full phase diagram, plus pressure or doping tuning of the Fermi surface.
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