Skyrmions and antiskyrmions in monoaxial chiral magnets

We show that competition between local interactions in monoaxial chiral magnets provides the stability of two-dimensional (2D) solitons with identical energies but opposite topological charges. These skyrmions and antiskyrmions represent metastable states in a wide range of parameters above the transition into the saturated ferromagnetic phase. The symmetry of the underlying micromagnetic functional gives rise to soliton zero modes allowing efficient control of their translational movement by the frequency of the circulating external magnetic field. We also discuss the role of demagnetizing fields in the energy balance between skyrmion and antiskyrmion and in their stability.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Turning chiral skyrmion inside out

The stability of two-dimensional chiral skyrmions in a tilted magnetic field is studied. It is shown that by changing the direction of the field and its magnitude, one can continuously transform chiral skyrmion into a skyrmion with opposite polarity and vorticity. This turned inside out skyrmion can be considered as an antiparticle for ordinary axisymmetric skyrmion. For any tilt angle of the magnetic field, there is a range of its absolute values where two types of skyrmions may coexist. In a tilted field, the potentials for inter-skyrmion interactions are characterized by the presence of local minima suggesting attractive interaction between the particles. The potentials of inter-particle interactions also have so-called fusion channels allowing either annihilation of two particles or the emergence of a new particle. The presented results are general for a wide class of magnetic crystals with both easy-plane and easy-axis anisotropy

Homotopy transitions and 3D magnetic solitons

This work provides a concept for three-dimensional magnetic solitons based on mapping the homotopy path between various two-dimensional solutions onto the third spatial axis. The representative examples of statically stable configurations of that type in the model of an isotropic chiral magnet are provided. Various static and dynamic properties of such three-dimensional magnetic solitons are discussed in detail.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figure

Switching of chiral magnetic skyrmions by picosecond magnetic field pulses via transient topological states

Magnetic chiral skyrmions are vortex like spin structures that appear as stable or meta-stable states in magnetic materials due to the interplay between the symmetric and antisymmetric exchange interactions, applied magnetic field and/or uniaxial anisotropy. Their small size and internal stability make them prospective objects for data storage but for this, the controlled switching between skyrmion states of opposite polarity and topological charge is essential. Here we present a study of magnetic skyrmion switching by an applied magnetic field pulse based on a discrete model of classical spins and atomistic spin dynamics. We found a finite range of coupling parameters corresponding to the coexistence of two degenerate isolated skyrmions characterized by mutually inverted spin structures with opposite polarity and topological charge. We demonstrate how for a wide range of material parameters a short inclined magnetic field pulse can initiate the reliable switching between these states at GHz rates. Detailed analysis of the switching mechanism revealed the complex path of the system accompanied with the excitation of a chiral-achiral meron pair and the formation of an achiral skyrmion

Tailed skyrmions -- an obscure branch of magnetic solitons

We report tailed skyrmions -- a new class of stable soliton solutions of the 2D chiral magnet model. Tailed skyrmions have elongated shapes and emerge in a narrow range of fields near the transition between the spin spirals and the saturated state. We analyze the stability range of these solutions in terms of external magnetic field and magnetocrystalline anisotropy. Minimum energy paths and the homotopies (continuous transitions) between tailed skyrmions of the same topological charge have been calculated using the geodesic nudged elastic bands method. The discovery of tailed skyrmions extends the diversity of already-known solutions illustrated by complex morphology solitons, such as tailed skyrmion bags with and without chiral kinks.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figure

Antiskyrmions stabilized at interfaces by anisotropic Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction

Chiral magnets are an emerging class of topological matter harbouring localized and topologically protected vortex-like magnetic textures called skyrmions, which are currently under intense scrutiny as a new entity for information storage and processing. Here, on the level of micromagnetics we rigorously show that chiral magnets cannot only host skyrmions but also antiskyrmions as least-energy configurations over all non-trivial homotopy classes. We derive practical criteria for their occurrence and coexistence with skyrmions that can be fulfilled by (110)-oriented interfaces in dependence on the electronic structure. Relating the electronic structure to an atomistic spin-lattice model by means of density-functional calculations and minimizing the energy on a mesoscopic scale applying spin-relaxation methods, we propose a double layer of Fe grown on a W(110) substrate as a practical example. We conjecture that ultrathin magnetic films grown on semiconductor or heavy metal substrates with $C_{2v}$ symmetry are prototype classes of materials hosting magnetic antiskyrmions.Comment: 20 pages (11 pages + 9 pages supplementary material

Thermal generation of droplet soliton in chiral magnet

Controlled creation of localized magnetic textures beyond conventional π-skyrmions is an important problem in the field of magnetism. Here, by means of spin dynamics simulations, Monte Carlo simulations, and harmonic transition state theory we demonstrate that an elementary chiral magnetic soliton with zero topological charge—the chiral droplet—can be created by thermal fluctuations in the presence of the tilted magnetic field. The proposed protocol relies on an unusual kinetics combining the effects of the entropic stabilization and low-energy barrier for the nucleation of a topologically trivial state. Following this protocol by varying temperature and the tilt of the external magnetic field, one can selectively generate chiral droplets or π-skyrmions in a single system. The coexistence of two distinct magnetic solitons establishes a basis for a rich magnetization dynamics and opens up the possibility for the construction of more complex magnetic textures such as skyrmion bags and skyrmions with chiral kinks.Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) through SPP 2137 "Skyrmionics" Grant No. KI 2078/1-1, the Russian Science Foundation (Grant No. 19-72-10138), the Icelandic Research Fund (Grant Nos. 184949 and 217750), the University of Iceland Research Fund (Grant No. 15673), and the Swedish Research Council (Grant No. 2020-05110)Peer Reviewe

Thermal generation of droplet soliton in chiral magnet

Controlled creation of localized magnetic textures beyond conventional π-skyrmions is an important problem in the field of magnetism. Here, by means of spin dynamics simulations, Monte Carlo simulations, and harmonic transition state theory we demonstrate that an elementary chiral magnetic soliton with zero topological charge—the chiral droplet—can be created by thermal fluctuations in the presence of the tilted magnetic field. The proposed protocol relies on an unusual kinetics combining the effects of the entropic stabilization and low-energy barrier for the nucleation of a topologically trivial state. Following this protocol by varying temperature and the tilt of the external magnetic field, one can selectively generate chiral droplets or π-skyrmions in a single system. The coexistence of two distinct magnetic solitons establishes a basis for a rich magnetization dynamics and opens up the possibility for the construction of more complex magnetic textures such as skyrmion bags and skyrmions with chiral kinks.Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) through SPP 2137 "Skyrmionics" Grant No. KI 2078/1-1, the Russian Science Foundation (Grant No. 19-72-10138), the Icelandic Research Fund (Grant Nos. 184949 and 217750), the University of Iceland Research Fund (Grant No. 15673), and the Swedish Research Council (Grant No. 2020-05110)Peer Reviewe

Influence of Adding Ammonium Bifluoride when Leaching Monazite Using Sulphur Acid

The following shows the results of the leaching of monazite concentrate with sulfuric acid in the presence of ammonium bifluoride. It was established that the addition of ammonium bifluoride increases the degree of the leaching monazite concentrate and allows the separation of phosphorous from a mixture of rare earth and radioactive elements

Magnetic skyrmions, chiral kinks, and holomorphic functions

We present a novel approach to understanding the extraordinary diversity of magnetic skyrmion solutions. Our approach combines an original classification scheme with efficient analytical and numerical methods. We introduce the concept of chiral kinks to account for regions of disfavored chirality in spin textures, and classify two-dimensional magnetic skyrmions in terms of closed domain walls carrying such chiral kinks. In particular, we show that the topological charge of magnetic skyrmions can be expressed in terms of the constituent closed domain walls and chiral kinks. Guided by our classification scheme, we propose a method for creating hitherto unknown magnetic skyrmions which involves initial spin configurations formulated in terms of holomorphic functions and subsequent numerical energy minimization. We numerically study the stability of the resulting magnetic skyrmions for a range of external fields and anisotropy parameters, and provide quantitative estimates of the stability range for the whole variety of skyrmions with kinks. We show that the parameters limiting this range can be well described in terms of the relative energies of particular skyrmion solutions and isolated stripes with and without chiral kinks