Stabilization of Néel-type skyrmion lattice in centrosymmetric frustrated magnets via ferromagnetic Kitaev interaction

Abstract Frustrated exchange interactions in centrosymmetric triangular-lattice magnets naturally give rise to noncollinear spiral states with degenerate helicities. Here, we demonstrate that the Kitaev interaction provides an efficient mechanism for helicity selection in such frustration-induced spirals: a ferromagnetic (antiferromagnetic) Kitaev coupling stabilizes cycloidal (proper-screw) spiral modulations, which, under an external magnetic field, lead to the formation of Néel-type (Bloch-type) skyrmion lattice (SkX). Taking the MnI 2 monolayer as a realistic material platform, we show that its ferromagnetic Kitaev interaction selects cycloidal spirals and stabilizes Néel-type SkX within a finite magnetic-field window. Our results thus establish a unified microscopic picture in which the sign of the Kitaev interaction governs the spiral helicity and thereby determines the resulting skyrmion type in centrosymmetric frustrated magnets.