Static Hopf Solitons and Knotted Emergent Fields in Solid-State Noncentrosymmetric Magnetic Nanostructures

TL;DR

This paper models and demonstrates the theoretical stability of three-dimensional hopfions in solid-state magnetic nanostructures, revealing their potential for experimental observation and applications in spintronics.

Contribution

It introduces a model showing stable static hopfions in noncentrosymmetric magnetic nanostructures, highlighting stabilization mechanisms and simulation guidance for experiments.

Findings

Stable hopfions can exist in magnetic nanostructures.

Surface anisotropy and Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interactions stabilize hopfions.

Simulated electron microscopy images can guide experimental detection.

Abstract

Two-dimensional topological solitons, commonly called Skyrmions, are extensively studied in solid-state magnetic nanostructures and promise many spintronics applications. However, three-dimensional topological solitons dubbed hopfions have not been demonstrated as stable spatially localized structures in solid-state magnetic materials. Here we model the existence of such static solitons with different Hopf index values in noncentrosymmetric solid magnetic nanostructures with a perpendicular interfacial magnetic anisotropy. We show how this surface anisotropy, along with the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interactions and the geometry of nanostructures, stabilize hopfions. We demonstrate knots in emergent field lines and computer simulate Lorentz transmission electron microscopy images of such solitonic configurations to guide their experimental discovery in magnetic solids.