CP<sup>2</sup> skyrmions and skyrmion crystals in realistic quantum magnets.

Zhang, Hao; Wang, Zhentao; Dahlbom, David; Barros, Kipton; Batista, Cristian D · Nat Commun · 2023

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

Magnetic skyrmions are nanoscale topological textures that have been recently observed in different families of quantum magnets. These objects are called CP<sup>1</sup> skyrmions because they are built from dipoles-the target manifold is the 1D complex projective space, CP<sup>1</sup> ≅ S<sup>2</sup>. Here we report the emergence of magnetic CP<sup>2</sup> skyrmions in a realistic spin-1 model, which includes both dipole and quadrupole moments. Unlike CP<sup>1</sup> skyrmions, CP<sup>2</sup> skyrmions can also arise as metastable textures of quantum paramagnets, opening a new road to discover emergent topological solitons in non-magnetic materials. The quantum phase diagram of the spin-1 model also includes magnetic field-induced CP<sup>2</sup> skyrmion crystals that can be detected with regular momentum- (diffraction) and real-space (Lorentz transmission electron microscopy) experimental techniques.