Nanowerk January 23, 2019
Until recently skyrmions were a phenomenon only observed at extreme low temperature. They need external magnetic fields to exist. A team of researchers in the US (Ames Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, University of Florida) established a skyrmion lattice in a sample through exposure to magnetic fields and supercooling with liquid nitrogen. They were able to observe the skyrmion lattice in zero magnetic field, and then observe the decay of the skyrmions as the temperature warmed gaining critical new information about how skyrmions behave and how they revert to metastable state. The research provides a very solid foundation for theorists to better understand this phenomenon… read more. TECHNICAL ARTICLE
Skyrmions are nanoscale whirls or vortices of magnetic poles that form lattices within a magnetic material, a type of quasiparticle that can zip across the material, pushed by electrical current. Credit: Image: Ames Laboratory