Regensburg 2016 – wissenschaftliches Programm

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PV: Plenarvorträge

PV XII

PV XII: Preisträgervortrag

Mittwoch, 9. März 2016, 13:15–13:45, H1

Topological Spin Textures in Chiral Magnets — •Christian Pfleiderer — Physik-Department, Technische Universität München, D-85748 Garching, Germany — Laureate of the Max-Born-Prize

Present day limitations of information technology based on magnetic materials may be traced to the notion that all magnetic materials known until recently display topologically trivial forms of long-range magnetic order. A new form of magnetic order composed of topologically non-trivial spin solitons driven by chiral spin interactions, widely referred to as skyrmion lattices in recognition of seminal theoretical contributions of British nuclear physicist Tony Skyrme, display several exceptional properties that offer unexpected new perspectives for the study of magnetic order and the challenges encountered in information technology. In particular, the non-zero topological winding number per magnetic unit cell implies enhanced stability, very efficient coupling to the conduction electrons in metallic systems by virtue of Berry phases, and very weak pinning by defects. Taken together these pave the way to sizeable spin transfer torque effects at ultra-low current densities. I will review the status of the research on skyrmions and related topological spin solitons in bulk compounds and thin films, focussing on similarities and differences with conventional magnetic materials.