Finite-Temperature Properties of Three-Dimensional Chiral Helimagnets

We study a three-dimensional (3d) classical chiral helimagnet at finite temperatures through analysis of a spin Hamiltonian, which is defined on a simple cubic lattice and consists of the Heisenberg exchange, monoaxial Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interactions, and the Zeeman energy due to a magnetic field applied in the plane perpendicular to the helical axis. We take account of the quasi-two-dimensionality of the known monoaxial chiral helimagnet CrNb3S6 and we adopt three methods: (i) a conventional mean-field (MF) analysis, which we call the 3dMF method, (ii) a hybrid method called the 2dMC-1dMF method, which is composed of a classical Monte Carlo (MC) simulation and a MF approximation applied respectively to the intra-and interlayer interactions, and (iii) a simple-MC simulation (3dMC) at zero field. The temperature dependence of the magnetization calculated by the 3dMF method shows a cusp-like structure similar to that observed in experiments. In the absence of a magnetic field, both 2dMC-1dMF and 3dMC yield similar values of the transition temperature. The 2dMC-1dMF method provides a quantitative description of the thermodynamic properties, even under an external field, at an accessible numerical cost.