Interaction of Individual Skyrmions in Nanostructured Cubic Chiral Magnet

TL;DR

This study demonstrates how magnetic skyrmions in FeGe nanostripes exhibit field-dependent interactions, transitioning from attraction to repulsion, with experimental results aligning with micromagnetic simulations and emphasizing the role of demagnetizing fields.

Contribution

It provides direct experimental evidence of the field-dependent interaction character of individual skyrmions and their edges in nanostructured chiral magnets, supported by simulations.

Findings

Skyrmion interactions change from attraction to repulsion at critical magnetic fields.

Experimental inter-skyrmion distances match micromagnetic simulation predictions.

Demagnetizing fields and internal symmetry significantly influence skyrmion behavior.

Abstract

We report the direct evidence of field-dependent character of the interaction between individual magnetic skyrmions as well as between skyrmions and edges in B20-type FeGe nanostripes observed by means of high resolution Lorentz transmission electron microscopy. It is shown that above certain critical values of external magnetic field the character of such long-range skyrmion interactions change from attraction to repulsion. Experimentally measured equilibrium inter-skyrmion and skrymion-edge distances as function of applied magnetic field shows quantitative agreement with the results of micromagnetic simulations. Important role of demagnetizing fields and internal symmetry of three-dimensional magnetic skyrmions are discussed in details.