Chirality inversion and radius blow-up of a Néel-type skyrmion by a Pearl vortex

Abstract

We develop a theory for the coaxial configuration of a Néel-type skyrmion and a Pearl vortex in thin superconductor-chiral ferromagnetic heterostructures. Using direct numerical solution of the Euler-Lagrange equation and micromagnetic simulations we demonstrate that the inhomogeneous magnetic field of the Pearl vortex significantly modifies the skyrmion profile with respect to the one in the absence of the vortex. We discover drastic enlargement of the skyrmion's radius and inversion of the skyrmion's chirality. To unravel physics behind these effects we invent novel two-parameter ansatz for the magnetization profile of the skyrmion in the presence of the vortex. Chirality inversion and radius blow-up are controlled not only by the material parameters of the heterostructure but also by the thickness of the superconductor. Our findings can have implications for Majorana modes localized at skyrmion-vortex pairs.

6 pages, 2 figures; 1 video file and its description (as ancillary files)

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Cited by in corpus (3)

• Colloquium: Quantum Properties and Functionalities of Magnetic Skyrmions
• Visualization of Skyrmion-Superconducting Vortex Pairs in a Chiral-Magnet-Superconductor Heterostructure
• Deformation of a Néel-type Skyrmion in a Weak Inhomogeneous Magnetic Field: Magnetization Ansatz and Interaction with a Pearl Vortex