Published in

Nature Research, Communications Physics, 1(2), 2019

DOI: 10.1038/s42005-019-0175-z

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Deformation of the moving magnetic skyrmion lattice in MnSi under electric current flow

This paper is made freely available by the publisher.
This paper is made freely available by the publisher.

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Abstract

AbstractTopological defects are found ubiquitously in various kinds of matter, such as vortices in type-II superconductors, and magnetic skyrmions in chiral ferromagnets. While knowledge on the static behavior of magnetic skyrmions is accumulating steadily, their dynamics under forced flow is still a widely open issue. Here, we report the deformation of the moving magnetic skyrmion lattice in MnSi under electric current flow observed using small-angle neutron scattering. A spatially inhomogeneous rotation of the skyrmion lattice, with an inverse rotation sense for opposite sample edges, is observed for current densities greater than a threshold value jt ~ 1 MA m2 (106 A m2). Our result show that skyrmion lattices under current flow experience significant friction near the sample edges due to pinning, this being a critical effect that must be considered for anticipated skyrmion-based applications at the nanoscale.