Transition-metal interfaces and multilayers are a very promising class of systems to realize nanometer-sized, stable magnetic skyrmions for future spintronic devices. For room temperature applications it is crucial to understand the interactions which control the stability of isolated skyrmions. Typically, skyrmion properties are explained by the interplay of pair-wise exchange interactions, the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction and the magnetocrystalline anisotropy energy. Here, we demonstrate that higher-order exchange interactions -- which have so far been neglected -- can play a key role for the stability of skyrmions. We use an atomistic spin model parametrized from first-principles and compare three different ultrathin film systems. We consider all fourth order exchange interactions and show that in particular the four-site four spin interaction has a giant effect on the energy barrier preventing skyrmion and antiskyrmion collapse into the ferromagnetic state. Our work opens new perspectives to enhance the stability of topological spin structures.
Exchange anisotropy provides a direction dependent mechanism for the stability of the skyrmion lattice phase in noncentrosymmetric bulk chiral magnets. Based on the Fourier representation of the skyrmion lattice, we explain the direction dependence of the temperature-magnetic field phase diagram for bulk MnSi through a phenomenological mean-field model incorporating exchange anisotropy. Through quantitative comparison with experimental results, we clarify that the stability of the skyrmion lattice phase in bulk MnSi is determined by a combined effect of negative exchange anisotropy and thermal…
We revisit a theory of skyrmion transport in ferromagnets. On a basis of an effective U(1) gauge theory for spin-chirality fluctuations in double-exchange ferromagnets, we derive an expression for the velocity of a skyrmion core driven by the dc electric field. We find that mutual feedback effects between conduction electrons and localized spins give rise to Chern-Simons terms, suggesting a dissipationless mechanism for the skyrmion Hall current. A conventional description of the current-induced skyrmion motion, appearing through the spin transfer torque and scattering events, is reproduced in…
We study a graphene Hall probe located on top of a magnetic surface as a detector of skyrmions, using as working principle the anomalous Hall effect produced by the exchange interaction of the graphene electrons with the non-coplanar magnetization of the skyrmion. We study the magnitude of the effect as a function of the exchange interaction, skyrmion size and device dimensions. Our calculations for multiterminal graphene nanodevices, working in the ballistic regime, indicate that for realistic exchange interactions a single skyrmion would give Hall voltages well within reach of the experiment…
The presence of interfacial Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) may lead to the appearance of Néel skyrmions in ferromagnetic films. These topologically protected structures, whose diameter is as small as a few nanometers, can be nowadays stabilized at room temperature and have been proposed for the realization of artificial magnonic crystals and new spintronic devices, such as racetrack memories. In this perspective, it is of utmost importance to analyze their dynamical properties in the GHz range, i.e. in the operation range of current communication devices. Here we exploited the softwar…
We report the results of simulations of magnetic skyrmion stability in ultrathin magnetic multilayer nanodots with interfacial Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya exchange interaction (DMI). We found that in presence of the lateral confinement the magnetostatic energy significantly influences the skyrmion stability and leads to stabilization of large radius skyrmion even at low values of the DMI strength, in addition to small radius skyrmion stabilized by DMI. In particular, stabilization of the skyrmion state with two different radii (bi-stability) is found in dipolarly-coupled (Pt/Co/Ir)$_{n}$ circular na…
A skyrmion in frustrated magnetic system has the helicity degree of freedom. A skyrmion string is formed in a frustrated layered system, which is well described by the $XY$ model owing to the exchange coupling between adjacent layers. We consider a system where the interlayer exchange couplings are alternating, where the dimerized $XY$ model is materialized, whose linear limit is the Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model. We argue that it is a nonlinear topological system. We study the quench dynamics of the helicity wave under the initial condition that the helicity of the skyrmion in the bottommost lay…
We present a Hartree-Fock study that incorporates the effects of Landau level mixing and screening due to filled levels into the computation of energies and states of quasiparticles in quantum Hall ferromagnets. We use it to construct a phase diagram for skyrmion stability as a function of magnetic field and Zeeman coupling strengths. We find that Landau level mixing tends to favor spin-polarized quasiparticles, while finite thickness corrections favor skyrmions. Our studies show that skyrmion stability in high Landau levels is very sensitive to the way in which electron-electron interactions …
Skyrmion crystals (SkX) are periodic alignment of magnetic skyrmions, i.e., a type of topologically protected spin textures. Compared with ordinary crystals, they can be drastically deformed under anisotropic effects because they are composed of field patterns whose deformation does not cause any bond-breaking. This exotic ductility of SkX bring about great tunability of its collective excitations called emergent phonons, which are vital for magnonics application. The question is how to quantitatively determine the emergent phonons of distorted SkX. Here we systematically study the long wavele…
We determine sizes and activation energies of kπ-skyrmions on a discrete lattice using the Landau- Lifshitz-Gilbert equation and the geodesic nudged elastic band method. The employed atomic material parameters are based on the skyrmionic material system Pd/Fe/Ir(111). We find that the critical magnetic fields for collapse of the 2π-skyrmion and 3π-skyrmion are very close to each other and considerably lower than the critical field of the 1π-skyrmion. The activation energy protecting the structures does not strictly decrease with increasing k as it can be larger for the 3π-skyrmion than for the…
We study the impact of an exchange-reducing defect on a skyrmion for a thin film of finite thickness. Attraction of the skyrmion to a defect is demonstrated in a lattice model by computing the micromagnetic energy accounting for the exchange, Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction, magnetic anisotropy, and dipole-dipole coupling. The spiraling dynamics of the skyrmion towards the defect is illustrated by solving numerically the full Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equations on a lattice and, independently, the Thiele equation, with the two methods in agreement with each other. We find that the skyrmion def…
A spin-polarized current in a nanocontact to a magnetic film can create collective magnetic oscillations by compensating the magnetic damping. In particular, in materials with uniaxial magnetic anisotropy, droplet solitons have been observed a self-localized excitation consisting of partially reversed magnetization that precesses coherently in the nanocontact region. It is also possible to generate topological droplet solitons, known as \emph{dynamical skyrmions}. Here we study the conditions that promote either droplet or dynamical skyrmion formation and describe their stability in magnetic f…
Skyrmions are emerging topological spin structures that are potentially revolutionary for future data storage and spintronics applications. The existence and stability of skyrmions in magnetic materials is usually associated to the presence of the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) in bulk magnets or in magnetic thin films lacking inversion symmetry. While some methods have already been proposed to generate isolated skyrmions in thin films with DMI, a thorough study of the conditions under which the skyrmions will remain stable in order to be manipulated in an integrated spintronic device…
Theoretical calculations of thermally activated decay of skyrmions in systems comprising several magnetic monolayers are presented, with a special focus on bilayer systems. Mechanisms of skyrmion collapse are identified and corresponding energy barriers and thermal collapse rates are evaluated as functions of the interlayer exchange coupling and mutual stacking of the monolayers using transition state theory and an atomistic spin Hamiltonian. In order to contrast the results to monolayer systems, the magnetic interactions within each layer are chosen so as to mimic the well-established Pd/Fe/I…
Magnetic skyrmions are hailed as a potential technology for data storage and other data processing devices. However, their stability against thermal fluctuations is an open question that must be answered before skyrmion-based devices can be designed. In this work, we study paths in the energy landscape via which the transition between the skyrmion and the uniform state can occur in interfacial Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya finite-sized systems. We find three mechanisms the system can take in the process of skyrmion nucleation or destruction and identify that the transition facilitated by the boundary …
An analytical expression for the energy of Néel skyrmions in ultra-thin nanodots considering exchange, uniaxial anisotropy, Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya, and dipolar contributions has been obtained. In particular, we have proposed for the Néel skyrmion, a general ansatz for the component of the magnetization perpendicular to the dot, given by $m_z(r) = [1-(r/R_s)^n]/[1 + (r/R_s)^n]$, where $R_s$ is the radius of the skyrmion and $n$ is an integer and even number. As proof of concept, we calculate the energy of a Néel skyrmion in an ultra-thin Co/Pt dot, and we find that the dipolar contribution canno…
We demonstrate that magnetic skyrmions with a mean diameter around 60 nm can be stabilized at room temperature and zero external magnetic field in an exchange-biased Pt/Co/NiFe/IrMn multilayer stack. This is achieved through an advanced optimization of the multilayer stack composition in order to balance the different magnetic energies controlling the skyrmion size and stability. Magnetic imaging is performed both with magnetic force microscopy and scanning Nitrogen-Vacancy magnetometry, the latter providing unambiguous measurements at zero external magnetic field. In such samples, we show tha…
The revisited theoretical phase diagrams for thin films of cubic helimagnets with the easy-plane anisotropy are shown to have different topology as previously reported [Phys. Rev. B 85, 094429 (2012)]. For both in-plane and out-of-plane directions of an applied magnetic field, the phase diagrams exhibit extensive areas of stable skyrmions, which overlap for a wide range of anisotropy parameters. Although the existence of the out-of-plane skyrmions was contradicted within the previous theoretical models, we prove that additional surface twists lead to their stability, while the moderate easy-pl…
Magnetic skyrmions are topological objects, which have recently been observed in thin films at room temperature. Sub 100-nm sizes and spin polarised current manipulation make them candidates for high density information storage and processing. Besides material thickness, skyrmion stability involves many contributions: ferromagnetic exchange, magnetic anisotropy, Dzyaloshinskii-Moryia exchange interaction (DMI) and demagnetising energy. Multidimensional phase diagrams have been reported in the litterature. In this work we propose a simple two-parameter model, exact for thin films in the negligi…
The Coulomb exchange interaction is the driving force for quantum coherence in quantum Hall systems. We construct a microscopic Landau-site Hamiltonian for the exchange interaction in bilayer quantum Hall ferromagnets, which is characterized by the SU(4) isospin structure. By taking a continuous limit, the Hamiltonian gives rise to the SU(4) nonlinear sigma model in the von-Neumann-lattice formulation. The ground-state energy is evaluated at filling factors $ν=1,2,3,4$. It is shown at $ν=1$ that there are 3 independent soft waves, where only one soft wave is responsible for the coherent tunnel…
In this letter we calculate the energies corresponding to the different magnetic phases present in a ferromagnetic cylinder by means of analytical calculations. From the comparison of these energies, it is possible to construct magnetic phase diagrams as a function of the uniaxial anisotropy of the sample and the external magnetic field applied. As proof of concept, we analyzed the magnetic phase diagrams for a cobalt dot of 240 nm in diameter and 70 nm in length, with an easy axis parallel to the dot axis, and with a magnetic field applied towards or perpendicular to this axis. From these dia…
The magnetic skyrmion is a topological magnetic vortex, and its topological nature is characterized by an index called skyrmion number which is a mapping of the magnetic moments defined on a two-dimensional space to a unit sphere. In three-dimensions, a skyrmion, i.e., a vortex penetrating though the magnet naturally forms a string, which terminates at the surfaces of the magnet or in the bulk. For such a string, the topological indices, which control its topological stability are less trivial. Here, we show theoretically, in terms of numerical simulation for the current-driven motion of a sky…
Magnetic skyrmions are chiral spin textures with attractive features, such as ultra-small size, solitonic nature, and easy mobility with small electrical currents that make them promising as information-carrying bits in low-power high-density memory, and logic applications. However, it is essential to guarantee the positional stability of skyrmions for reliable information extraction. Using micromagnetic simulations for the minimum energy path (MEP), we compute the energy barriers associated with stabilizing notches along a racetrack. We vary material parameters, specifically, the strength of …
We study the stability and energetics associated to skyrmions appear- ing as excitations on curved surfaces. Using a continuum model we show that the presence of cylindrically radial and azimuthal fields destabilizes the skyrmions that appear in the absence of an external field. Weak fields generate fractional skyrmions while strong magnetic fields yield stable 2{$π$}- skyrmions, which have their widths diminished by the magnetic field strength. Under azimuthal fields vortex appear as stable states on the curved surface.
We study the anomalous Hall effect (AHE) for the double exchange model with the exchange coupling $|J_H|$ being smaller than the bandwidth $|t|$ for the purpose of clarifying the following unresolved and confusing issues: (i) the effect of the underlying lattice structure, (ii) the relation between AHE and the skyrmion number, (iii) the duality between real and momentum spaces, and (iv) the role of the disorder scatterings; which is more essential, $σ_H$ (Hall conductivity) or $ρ_H$ (Hall resistivity)? Starting from a generic expression for $σ_H$, we resolve all these issues and classify the r…
The two-dimensional Heisenberg exchange model with out-of-plane anisotropy and a Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction is employed to investigate the lifetime and stability of antiferromagnetic (AFM) skyrmions as a function of temperature and external magnetic field. An isolated AFM skyrmion is metastable at zero temperature in a certain parameter range set by two boundaries separating the skyrmion state from the uniform AFM phase and a stripe domain phase. The distribution of the energy barriers for the AFM skyrmion decay into the uniform AFM state complements the zero-temperature stability diagr…
We investigate an instability toward a square-lattice formation of magnetic skyrmions in centrosymmetric layered systems. By focusing on a bilayer square-lattice structure with the inversion center at the interlayer bond instead of the atomic site, we numerically examine the stability of the square skyrmion crystal based on an effective spin model with the momentum-resolved interaction in the ground state through the simulated annealing. As a result, we find that a layer-dependent staggered Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction built in the lattice structure becomes the origin of the square skyrmi…
We study the emergence and dynamics of in-plane skyrmions in collinear ferromagnetic heterostructures. We present a minimal energy model for this class of magnetic textures, determine the crystal symmetries compatible with it and propose material candidates, based on symmetries only, for the observation of these topological solitons. We calculate exact solutions of the energy model for in-plane skyrmions in the absence of dipolar interactions at critical coupling, the latter defined by the relations $H = K$ and $D = \sqrt{AK}$ for the strength of the external magnetic field and the Dzyaloshins…
We study spin-wave excitations in a circular ferromagnetic nanodot in different inhomogeneous, topologically non-trivial magnetization states, specifically, vortex and skyrmion states. Gradual change in the strength of the out-of-plane magnetic anisotropy and the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya exchange interaction leads to continuous phase transitions between different stable magnetic configurations and allows for mapping of dynamic spin modes in and between the vortex, Bloch-type skyrmion and Néel-type skyrmion states. Our study elucidates the connections between gyrotropic modes, azimuthal spin waves…
Breaking the dilemma between small size and room temperature stability is a necessary prerequisite for skyrmion-based information technology. Here we demonstrate by means of rate theory and an atomistic spin Hamiltonian that the stability of isolated skyrmions in ultrathin ferromagnetic films can be enhanced by the concerted variation of magnetic interactions while keeping the skyrmion size unchanged. We predict film systems where the lifetime of sub-10 nm skyrmions can reach years at ambient conditions. The long lifetime of such small skyrmions is due to exceptionally large Arrhenius pre-expo…
We present a theory of electron scattring on a magnetic skyrmion for the case when exchange interaction is moderate so that adiabatic approximation and Berry phase approach is not applicable. The theory explains the appearance of a topological Hall current in the systems with magnetic skyrmions, of a special importance its applicability to dilute magnetic semiconductors with a weak exchange interaction.
A new skyrmion topological transition driven by higher-order exchange interactions in Janus MnSeTe
CEMES, Université de Toulouse, CNRS（图卢兹大学CNRS CEMES）；Institute of Theoretical Physics and Astrophysics, University of Kiel（基尔大学理论物理与天体物理研究所）；Kiel Nano, Surface, and Interface Science (KiNSIS), University of Kiel（基尔大学基尔纳米、表面与界面科学研究所）
Lorentz transmission electron microscopy (LTEM) investigations of modulated states in a FeGe wedge and detailed calculations demonstrate that chiral twists arising near the surfaces of noncentrosymmetric ferromagnets (Meynell et al. Phys. Rev. B, 90, 014406 (2014)) provide a stabilization mechanism for skyrmion lattices and helicoids in cubic helimagnet nanolayers. The calculated magnetic phase diagram for free standing cubic helimagnet nanolayers shows that magnetization processes in these compounds fundamentally differ from those in bulk cubic helimagnets and are characterized by the first-o…
A path method is implemented in order to precisely and generally describe the collapse of isolated skyrmions in a Co/Pt(111) monolayer, on the basis of atomic scale simulations. Two collapse mechanisms with different energy barriers are found. The most obvious path, featuring a homogeneous shrinking gives the largest energy, whereas the lowest energy barrier is shown to comply with the outcome of Langevin dynamics under a destabilizing field of 0.25 T, with a lifetime of 20~ns at around 80~K. For this lowest energy barrier path, skyrmion destabilization occurs much before any topology change, …
Magnetic skyrmions are topological magnetic spin structures exhibiting particle-like behaviour. They are of strong interest from a fundamental viewpoint and for application, where they have potential to act as information carriers in future low-power computing technologies. Importantly, skyrmions have high physical stability because of topological protection. However, they have potential to deform according to their local energy environment. Here we demonstrate that, in regions of high exchange energy density, skyrmions may exhibit such extreme deformation that spontaneous merging with nearest…
Topological phase in magnetic materials yields a quantized contribution to the Hall effect known as the topological Hall effect, which is often caused by skyrmions, with each skyrmion creating a magnetic flux quantum h/e. The control and understanding of topological properties in nanostructured materials is the subject of immense interest for both fundamental science and technological applications, especially in spintronics. In this work, the electron-transport properties and spin structure of exchange-coupled cobalt nanoparticles with an average particle size of 13.7 nm are studied experiment…
The skyrmionic mass was calculated in the main order of the gradient expansion in derivatives of the rotation matrix. The mass is proportinal to the topological invariant which is the absolut value of the degree of the mapping. The coefficient is defined by the exchange interaction. The charged skyrmions in magnetic field give rise to a special branch of cyclotron resonance with the frequency defined by the exchange interaction and have the corresponding term in their minimal energy. The possibility of an extra bound electron and neutral skyrmions is discussed.
Magnetic skyrmions are topologically protected spin-whirl quasiparticles currently considered as promising components for ultra-dense memory devices. In the bulk they form lattices that are stable over just a few Kelvin below the ordering temperature. This narrow stability range presents a key challenge for applications, and finding ways to tune the SkL stability over a wider phase space is a pressing issue. Here we show experimentally that the skyrmion phase in the magnetoelectric insulator ${\text{Cu}_2 \text{O} \text{Se} \text{O}_3}$ can either expand or shrink substantially depending on th…
Skyrmions are important in topological quantum field theory for being soliton solutions of a nonlinear sigma model and in information technology for their attractive applications. Skyrmions are believed to be circular and stripy spin textures appeared in the vicinity of skyrmion crystals are termed spiral, helical, and cycloid spin orders, but not skyrmions. Here we present convincing evidences showing that those stripy spin textures are skyrmions, "siblings" of circular skyrmions in skyrmion crystals and "cousins" of isolated circular skyrmions. Specifically, isolated skyrmions are excitation…
The skyrmion racetrack is a promising concept for future information technology. There, binary bits are carried by nanoscale spin swirls -- skyrmions -- driven along magnetic strips. Stability of the skyrmions is a critical issue for the realization of this technology. Here we demonstrate that the racetrack skyrmion lifetime can be calculated from first principles as a function of temperature, magnetic field and track width. Our method combines harmonic transition state theory extended to include Goldstone modes, with an atomistic spin Hamiltonian parametrized from density functional theory ca…
Recently, there has been substantial interest in realizations of skyrmions, in particular in 2D systems due to increased stability resulting from reduced dimensionality. A stable skyrmion, representing the smallest realizable magnetic texture, could be an ideal element for ultra-dense magnetic memories. Here, we use the most general form of the 2D free energy with Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interactions constructed from general symmetry considerations reflecting the underlying system. We predict that skyrmion phase is robust and it is present even when the system lacks the in-plane rotational symme…
We compute annihilation rates of metastable magnetic skyrmions using a form of Langer's theory in the intermediate-to-high damping (IHD) regime. For a Néel skyrmion, a Bloch skyrmion, and an antiskyrmion, we look at two possible paths to annihilation: collapse and escape through a boundary. We also study the effects of a curved vs. a flat boundary, a second skyrmion and a non-magnetic defect. We find that the skyrmion's internal modes play a dominant role in the thermally activated transitions compared to the spin-wave excitations and that the relative contribution of internal modes depends on…
We describe a topological protection mechanism for highly-twisted two-dimensional Skyrmions in systems with Dyloshinskii-Moriya (DM) coupling, where non-zero DM energy density (dubbed "twisting energy density") acts as a kind of band gap in real space, yielding an N invariant for highly twisted Skyrmions. We prove our result through the application of contact topology by extending our system along a fictitious third dimension, and further establish the structural stability of highly-twisted Skyrmions under arbitrary chirality-preserving distortions. Our results apply for all two-dimensional sy…
Magnetic skyrmions are two-dimensional non-collinear spin textures characterised by an integer topological number. They commonly crystallise at low temperatures in bulk noncentrosymmetric ferromagnets where the lack of inversion symmetry leads to an antisymmetric component of the exchange interaction. Recently, stable room-temperature skyrmions were reported in stacks of thin magnetic films where antisymmetric exchange results from broken symmetry at the interface. Determining the spin structure of these technologically-relevant skyrmions in the presence of external magnetic fields has remaine…
Proximitizing magnetic textures and $s$-wave superconductors is becoming a platform for engineering topological superconductivity and Majorana fermions by the means of exchange processes. However, the consequences of orbital effects have not yet been fully taken into account. In this work, we investigate the magnetic skyrmion texture-induced orbital effects using a Ginzburg-Landau approach and clarify the conditions under which they can induce superconducting vortices. These orbital effects are then included in Bogoliubov-De-Gennes theory containing the exchange interaction, as well as superco…
We clarify the conditions for the emergence of multiple-${\bf Q}$ structures out of lattice and easy-axis spin anisotropy in frustrated magnets. By considering magnets whose exchange interaction has multiple global minima in momentum space, we find that both types of anisotropy stabilize triple-${\bf Q}$ orderings. Moderate anisotropy leads to a magnetic field-induced skyrmion crystal, which evolves into a bubble crystal for increasing spatial or spin anisotropy. The bubble crystal exhibits a quasi-continuous (devil's staircase) temperature dependent ordering wave-vector, characteristic of the…
Magnetic skyrmions are particle-like topological excitations in ferromagnets, which have the topological number $Q=\pm 1$, and hence show the skyrmion Hall effect (SkHE) due to the Magnus force effect originating from the topology. Here, we propose the counterpart of the magnetic skyrmion in the antiferromagnetic (AFM) system, that is, the AFM skyrmion, which is topologically protected but without showing the SkHE. Two approaches for creating the AFM skyrmion have been described based on micromagnetic lattice simulations: (i) by injecting a vertical spin-polarized current to a nanodisk with th…
In non-centrosymmetric magnets the chiral Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya exchange stabilizes Skyrmion-strings as excitations which may condense into multiply modulated phases. Such extended Skyrmionic textures are determined by the stability of the localized "solitonic" Skyrmion cores and their geometrical incompatibility which frustrates regular space-filling. We present numerically exact solutions for Skyrmion lattices and formulate basic properties of the Skyrmionic states.
Ferromagnets crystallizing in structures described by chiral cubic space groups, including compounds with the B20 or $β$-Mn structures, are known to host long-period chiral spin textures such as skyrmion lattices. These spin textures are stabilized by a competition between ferromagnetic exchange and antisymmetric Dyzaloshinskii-Moriya (DM) exchange, which is enhanced by the spin-orbit coupling associated with high-atomic-number elements. For real-world application, it is desirable to find materials that can host compact skyrmion lattices at readily accessible temperatures. Here, we report on t…
Magnetic Skyrmions belong to the most interesting spin structures for the development of future information technology as they have been predicted to be topologically protected. To quantify their stability, we use an innovative multiscale approach to simulating spin dynamics based on the Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation. The multiscale approach overcomes the micromagnetic limitations that have hindered realistic studies using conventional techniques. We first demonstrate how the stability of a Skyrmion is influenced by the refinement of the computational mesh and reveal that conventionally emp…
