Topological spin textures in a 2D magnetic film — click to nucleate skyrmions
Skyrmions are topologically protected spin textures — whirlpools of magnetization that behave like particles. They arise from the competition between the ferromagnetic exchange interaction (J, aligning spins), the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI, canting spins), and an external magnetic field (B, favoring up-spins). Their topological charge Q = ±1 makes them remarkably stable — to destroy a skyrmion you must continuously deform the spin field, which costs energy.
Click the canvas to nucleate a skyrmion. The color shows the z-component of the spin: blue = up (+1), red = down (−1).
topologyspintronicsDMIcondensed matter