Skyrmion SV Disordered (IMAGE)
Caption
Skyrmions (top and bottom left) are little vortexes or whirlpools created by the spins of electrons when magnetic fields are applied to certain magnetic materials. Skyrmions can form regular lattice patterns (top right) that match the pattern of the atomic lattice that spawned them, although they’re about 100 times larger. They can also move independently to form different patterns (bottom right), including alternating stripes of electron spin and disordered, glass-like phases. In a series of recent studies, scientists at SLAC, Stanford, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and UC San Diego used an X-ray laser to discover new aspects of skyrmion behavior.
Credit
Greg Stewart/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, based on numerical simulations by Sergio Montoya/UC San Diego
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