Berlin 2018 – scientific programme

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TT: Fachverband Tiefe Temperaturen

TT 37: Skyrmions II (joint session MA/TT/KFM)

TT 37.8: Topical Talk

Tuesday, March 13, 2018, 11:30–12:00, EB 301

Composite topological excitations in ferromagnet-superconductor heterostructures — •Kjetil Hals — Department of Engineering Sciences, University of Agder, 4879 Grimstad, Norway

Heterostructures of conventional superconductors and ferromagnets are currently attracting considerable interest because of their potential use for realizing topological superconductivity. The combination of spin-orbit coupling in the superconductor and the lack of inversion symmetry of these heterostructures leads to a magnetoelectric coupling between the magnetic and superconducting order parameters [1, 2]. In this talk, I demonstrate that the magnetoelectric coupling causes magnetic skyrmions and superconducting vortices to bind, forming skyrmion-vortex pairs (SVPs) which represent topological excitations of the hybrid system [1]. I determine the conditions under which a bound SVP is formed, and characterize the range and depth of the effective binding potential through analytical estimates and numerical simulations. Furthermore, I develop a semiclassical description of the coupled skyrmion-vortex dynamics and discuss how SVPs can be controlled by applied spin currents.

[1] K.M.D. Hals, M. Schecter, M. S. Rudner, Phys. Rev. Lett. 117, 017001 (2016). [2] K. M. D. Hals, Phys. Rev. B 95, 134504 (2017).