Skyrmions are topologically protected field configurations that appear as solutions of continuous quantum-field theories. Recently, they have been observed in magnetic bulk alloys, where a lattice of skyrmions is stabilized by an external magnetic field. In contrast, this study finds evidence for a skyrmion lattice as a spontaneous ground state, encoded into a magnetic spin texture on the atomic scale.
- Stefan Heinze
- Kirsten von Bergmann
- Stefan Blügel