Real-space observations of 60-nm skyrmion dynamics in an insulating magnet under low heat flow.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Yu X
PROVIDER: S-EPMC8382761 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:A magnetic skyrmion lattice is a microstructure consisting of hexagonally aligned skyrmions. While a skyrmion as a topologically protected carrier of information promises a number of applications, an easily accessible probe of the skyrmion and skyrmion lattice at mesoscopic scale is of significance. It is known that neutron scattering, Lorentz transmission electron microscopy, and spin-resolved STM as effective probes of skyrmions have been established. In this work, we propose that the spatial contour of dielectric permittivity in a skyrmion lattice with ferromagnetic interaction and in-plane (xy) Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya (DM) interaction can be used to characterize the skyrmion lattice. The phase field and Monte Carlo simulations are employed to develop the one-to-one correspondence between the magnetic skyrmion lattice and dielectric dipole lattice, both exhibiting the hexagonal symmetry. Under excitation of in-plane electric field in the microwave range, the dielectric permittivity shows the dumbbell-like pattern with the axis perpendicular to the electric field, while it is circle-like for the electric field along the z-axis. The dependences of the spatial contour of dielectric permittivity on external magnetic field along the z-axis and dielectric frequency dispersion are discussed.
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Project description:Magnetic skyrmion is a topological spin texture characterized by the mapping from the two dimensional real space to the unit sphere. It is realized in chiral magnets under an external magnetic field in the plane perpendicular to it. In thin film samples, which are most relevant to the applications, the thickness of the system parallel to the magnetic field is finite, and a skyrmion turns into a skyrmion string, which is often assumed to be a straight rod. There are phenomena related to the internal degrees of freedom along the string, e.g., the monopole and anti-monopole creation/annihilation, corresponding to the change in the skyrmion number. However, the role of this finite thickness in the topological stability and dynamics has not been explored yet. Here we study theoretically the current-driven dynamics of a skyrmion string under disorder potential by systematically changing the thickness of the sample to reveal the dynamical phase diagram in the plane of current density and thickness. We found the three regions, i.e., (i) pinned skyrmion string, (ii) moving depinned skyrmion string, and (iii) annihilation of skyrmion string, for thin and thick limits while (iii) is missing in the intermediate case. This indicates that there is the optimal range of thickness for the topological stability of skyrmion string enhanced compared with a two-dimensional skyrmion. This result provides a way to design and control skyrmions in thin films and interfaces of finite thickness.
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