Light-controlled skyrmions and torons as reconfigurable particles

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates how low-intensity light can dynamically control the stability, size, interactions, and arrangements of skyrmions and torons in chiral nematic liquid crystals, enabling reconfigurable topological particles.

Contribution

It introduces a method to optically manipulate skyrmions in liquid crystals, combining experiments and modeling for real-time control of their properties.

Findings

Light controls skyrmion stability and size

Optical methods enable patterning and self-assembly

Dynamic control of topological solitons achieved

Abstract

Topological solitons, such as skyrmions, arise in field theories of systems ranging from Bose-Einstein condensates to optics, particle physics, and cosmology, but they are rarely accessible experimentally. Chiral nematic liquid crystals provide a platform to study skyrmions because of their natural tendency to form twisted structures arising from the lack of mirror symmetry at the molecular level. However, large-scale dynamic control and technological utility of skyrmions remain limited. Combining experiments and numerical modeling of chiral liquid crystals with optically controlled helical pitch, we demonstrate that low-intensity, unstructured light can control stability, dimensions, interactions, spatial patterning, self-assembly, and dynamics of these topological solitons.