Phys.org June 12, 2018
An international team of researchers (UK, China, Germany) measured the helicity angle of surface skyrmions, providing direct experimental evidence that a twisted skyrmion surface state also exists in bulk systems. The exact surface helicity angles of twisted skyrmions for both left- and right-handed chiral bulk Cu2OSeO3, in the single as well as in the multidomain skyrmion lattice state, are determined, revealing their detailed internal structure. The findings suggest that a skyrmion surface reconstruction is a universal phenomenon, stemming from the breaking of translational symmetry at the interface. The study suggests the importance of free surfaces has been severely underestimated and will be of central importance for future skyrmionics applications…read more. TECHNICAL ARTICLE 1 , 2
Credit: Diamond Light Source