Direct observation and imaging of a spin-wave soliton with p-like symmetry.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 26567699.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/ncomms9889 and PMC identifier 4660209.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Spin waves, the collective excitations of spins, can emerge as nonlinear solitons at the nanoscale when excited by an electrical current from a nanocontact. These solitons are expected to have essentially cylindrical symmetry (that is, s-like), but no direct experimental observation exists to confirm this picture. Using a high-sensitivity time-resolved magnetic X-ray microscopy with 50 ps temporal resolution and 35 nm spatial resolution, we are able to create a real-space spin-wave movie and observe the emergence of a localized soliton with a nodal line, that is, with p-like symmetry. Micromagnetic simulations explain the measurements and reveal that the symmetry of the soliton can be controlled by magnetic fields. Our results broaden the understanding of spin-wave dynamics at the nanoscale, with implications for the design of magnetic nanodevices.