Skyrmions are small magnetic swirls, ranging from nanometers to micrometers in size, that behave like particles and can be easily manipulated using electrical currents. These unique characteristics make skyrmions a promising candidate for innovative data storage solutions and computing technologies. Nevertheless, optimizing such devices often requires simulations of the skyrmions’ complex internal structures, which can be highly computationally demanding.
A potential solution to this issue is to simulate these magnetic spin structures as if they were particles, much like how molecules are modeled in biophysics. However, until now, there has been a lack of correlation between the time taken for simulations and the actual experimental time.
Collaboration of theory and experiment
To address this challenge, the theoretical physics group led by Professor Peter Virnau and the experimental physics group under Professor Mathias Kläui at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) have come together. Their approach to establishing the time conversion merges experimental measurements with analytical techniques from statistical physics. “We have now reached a point where we can not only make accurate predictions about the dynamics of skyrmions, but the speed of these simulations also closely matches that of the experiments,” explained theoretical physicist Maarten A. Brems, who was instrumental in developing this method.
“The enhanced predictive capability of these new simulations will greatly speed up the process of advancing skyrmion-based technologies,” noted Professor Mathias Kläui, highlighting its particular relevance to innovative and energy-saving computing architectures, which are a key focus area of JGU’s Top-level Research Area ‘TopDyn — Dynamics and Topology’ among others.
The findings have been published in Physical Review Letters and have received special recognition as an Editors’ Suggestion.
