Real-space imaging of confined magnetic skyrmion tubes

TL;DR

This paper presents the first direct real-space imaging of magnetic skyrmion tubes in a lamella of FeGe, revealing their extended structure and the influence of confinement and edge effects on their stability.

Contribution

It provides the first experimental visualization of skyrmion tubes using resonant magnetic x-ray imaging, confirming their elongated structure and importance of edge effects.

Findings

First real-space imaging of skyrmion tubes

Skyrmion tubes extend through sample thickness

Edge effects influence skyrmion tube stabilization

Abstract

Magnetic skyrmions are topologically nontrivial particles with a potential application as information elements in future spintronic device architectures. While they are commonly portrayed as two dimensional objects, in reality magnetic skyrmions are thought to exist as elongated, tube-like objects extending through the thickness of the sample. Study of this skyrmion tube (SkT) state is highly relevant for investigating skyrmion metastability and for implementation in recently proposed magnonic computing. However, direct experimental imaging of skyrmion tubes has yet to be reported. Here, we demonstrate the first real-space observation of skyrmion tubes in a lamella of FeGe using resonant magnetic x-ray imaging and comparative micromagnetic simulations, confirming their extended structure. The formation of these structures at the edge of the sample highlights the importance of confinement and edge effects in the stabilisation of the SkT state, opening the door to further investigations into this unexplored dimension of the skyrmion spin texture.