Hybrid magnetic skyrmions are half-integer hopfions
Magnetic skyrmions in thin metal films are tiny, swirling patterns of magnetization whose stability and ability to move through materials makes them potentially useful for data storage and advanced computing. Skyrmions in multilayer thin films are especially stable, partly due to a rotation in their structure from the top of the film to the bottom. Here, the McMorran group shows how these “hybrid skyrmions” can be described by a topological object, the half-integer Hopfion, which captures their knotted structure and underpins their extra stability.
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