Field-driven metamorphoses of isolated skyrmions within the conical state of cubic helimagnets

TL;DR

This paper explores the dynamic transformations and interactions of isolated skyrmions within the conical phase of cubic helimagnets, revealing new skyrmionic structures and their potential for spintronic applications.

Contribution

It introduces a novel paradigm of orthogonal skyrmionic networks and demonstrates their interconversion, expanding understanding of three-dimensional skyrmion behavior in chiral magnets.

Findings

Orthogonal skyrmionic networks can interconvert between horizontal, spring-like, and vertical states.

A family of target-skyrmions, including a new topological charge type, is identified.

Skyrmion evolution influences the host conical phase and may lead to exotic skyrmion order formation.

Abstract

Topologically stable field configurations appear in many fields of physics, from elementary particles to condensed matter and cosmology. During the last decade, chiral liquid crystals and chiral magnets took on the role of model objects for experimental investigation of topological solitons and understanding of their nonsingular field configurations. Here we introduce a paradigm of facile skyrmionic networks with mutually-orthogonal orientations of constituent isolated skyrmions. Such networks are envisioned as a novel concept of spintronic devices and are presumably responsible for precursor phenomena near the ordering temperatures of bulk cubic helimagnets. In particular, we demonstrate an interconversion between mutually orthogonal skyrmions: horizontal skyrmions swirl into an intermediate spring-like states and subsequently squeeze into vertical skyrmions with both polarities. Skyrmion tubes are also considered as building blocks for particle-like states with more involved internal structure. A family of target-skyrmions, which includes an overlooked so far type with a multiple topological charge, is formed owing to the tendency to minimize the interaction energy between vertical and horizontal skyrmions. The conical phase serves as a suitable background for considered skyrmion evolution. It substantializes the attracting skyrmion-skyrmion interaction in the skyrmionic networks, shapes their internal structure and guides the nucleation processes. Alternatively, intricate textural changes of isolated skyrmions result not only in the structural deformations of a host conical state, but may lead to the formation of an exotic skyrmion order with pairs of merons being the core of the game. Generically, the fundamental insights provided by this work emphasize a three-dimensional character of skyrmion metamorphoses and can also be extended to three-dimensional solitons, such as hopfions.