Universität zu Köln

Heil, Benjamin, Rosch, Achim ORCID: 0000-0002-6586-5721 and Masell, Jan (2019). Universality of annihilation barriers of large magnetic skyrmions in chiral and frustrated magnets. Phys. Rev. B, 100 (13). COLLEGE PK: AMER PHYSICAL SOC. ISSN 2469-9969

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Abstract

Magnetic skyrmions are whirls in the magnetization whose topological winding number promises stability against thermal fluctuations and defects. They can only decay via singular spin configurations. We analyze the corresponding energy barriers of skyrmions in a magnetic monolayer for two distinct stabilization mechanisms, i.e., Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) and competing interactions. Based on our numerically calculated collapse paths on an atomic lattice, we derive analytic expressions for the saddle-point textures and energy barriers of large skyrmions. The sign of the spin stiffness and the sign of fourth-order derivative terms in the classical field theory determines the nature of the saddle point and thus the height of the energy barrier. In the most common case for DMI-stabilized skyrmions, positive stiffness and negative fourth-order term, the saddle-point energy approaches a universal upper limit described by an effective continuum theory. For skyrmions stabilized by frustrating interactions, the stiffness is negative and the energy barrier arises mainly from the core of a singular vortex configuration.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID ORCID Put Code Heil, Benjamin UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Rosch, Achim UNSPECIFIED orcid.org/0000-0002-6586-5721 UNSPECIFIED Masell, Jan UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED
URN:	urn:nbn:de:hbz:38-130674
DOI:	10.1103/PhysRevB.100.134424
Journal or Publication Title:	Phys. Rev. B
Volume:	100
Number:	13
Date:	2019
Publisher:	AMER PHYSICAL SOC
Place of Publication:	COLLEGE PK
ISSN:	2469-9969
Language:	English
Faculty:	Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences
Divisions:	Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences > Department of Physics > Institute for Theoretical Physics
Subjects:	no entry
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Keywords Language LATTICE; STABILITY Multiple languages Materials Science, Multidisciplinary; Physics, Applied; Physics, Condensed Matter Multiple languages
Refereed:	Yes
URI:	http://kups.ub.uni-koeln.de/id/eprint/13067