A fluctuation-free pathway for a topological magnetic phase transition
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arXiv
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Preprint |
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2025
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| _version_ | 1866911342563164160 |
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| author | Battistelli, Riccardo Körber, Lukas Litzius, Kai Grelier, Matthieu Joy, Krishnanjana Puzhekadavil Schneider, Michael Wittrock, Steffen Metternich, Daniel Karaman, Tamer Kern, Lisa-Marie Klose, Christopher Finizio, Simone Fuchs, Josefin Günther, Christian M. Butcher, Tim A. Prokeš, Karel Boltje, Raluca Patra, Manas Wintz, Sebastian Weigand, Markus Petz, Sascha Popescu, Horia Raabe, Jörg Jaouen, Nicolas Eisebitt, Stefan Cros, Vincent Pfau, Bastian Mentink, Johan H. Reyren, Nicolas Büttner, Felix |
| author_facet | Battistelli, Riccardo Körber, Lukas Litzius, Kai Grelier, Matthieu Joy, Krishnanjana Puzhekadavil Schneider, Michael Wittrock, Steffen Metternich, Daniel Karaman, Tamer Kern, Lisa-Marie Klose, Christopher Finizio, Simone Fuchs, Josefin Günther, Christian M. Butcher, Tim A. Prokeš, Karel Boltje, Raluca Patra, Manas Wintz, Sebastian Weigand, Markus Petz, Sascha Popescu, Horia Raabe, Jörg Jaouen, Nicolas Eisebitt, Stefan Cros, Vincent Pfau, Bastian Mentink, Johan H. Reyren, Nicolas Büttner, Felix |
| contents | Topological magnetic textures are particle-like spin configurations stabilized by competing interactions. Their formation is commonly attributed to fluctuation-driven, first-order nucleation processes requiring activation over a topological energy barrier. Here, we demonstrate an alternative barrier- and fluctuation-free pathway for nucleating topological magnetic textures, triggered in our experiments by an excitation-induced spin reorientation transition. By combining x-ray imaging, scattering and micromagnetic simulations, we show that the system follows a deterministic cascade of symmetry-breaking phase transitions after excitation. First, the system undergoes a second-order phase transition from a homogeneous state to weak stripe domains, then a first-order transition to topologically trivial bubbles, and finally a topological switching event into skyrmionic textures. Through simulations, we generalize our findings and demonstrate that this pathway is active in a vast range of low-anisotropy materials. This previously unrecognized, spontaneous transition pathway suggests strategies for rapid, low-energy generation of topological spin textures and points to a general role of intrinsic modulational instabilities in phase transitions beyond magnetism. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2512_22947 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | A fluctuation-free pathway for a topological magnetic phase transition Battistelli, Riccardo Körber, Lukas Litzius, Kai Grelier, Matthieu Joy, Krishnanjana Puzhekadavil Schneider, Michael Wittrock, Steffen Metternich, Daniel Karaman, Tamer Kern, Lisa-Marie Klose, Christopher Finizio, Simone Fuchs, Josefin Günther, Christian M. Butcher, Tim A. Prokeš, Karel Boltje, Raluca Patra, Manas Wintz, Sebastian Weigand, Markus Petz, Sascha Popescu, Horia Raabe, Jörg Jaouen, Nicolas Eisebitt, Stefan Cros, Vincent Pfau, Bastian Mentink, Johan H. Reyren, Nicolas Büttner, Felix Materials Science Topological magnetic textures are particle-like spin configurations stabilized by competing interactions. Their formation is commonly attributed to fluctuation-driven, first-order nucleation processes requiring activation over a topological energy barrier. Here, we demonstrate an alternative barrier- and fluctuation-free pathway for nucleating topological magnetic textures, triggered in our experiments by an excitation-induced spin reorientation transition. By combining x-ray imaging, scattering and micromagnetic simulations, we show that the system follows a deterministic cascade of symmetry-breaking phase transitions after excitation. First, the system undergoes a second-order phase transition from a homogeneous state to weak stripe domains, then a first-order transition to topologically trivial bubbles, and finally a topological switching event into skyrmionic textures. Through simulations, we generalize our findings and demonstrate that this pathway is active in a vast range of low-anisotropy materials. This previously unrecognized, spontaneous transition pathway suggests strategies for rapid, low-energy generation of topological spin textures and points to a general role of intrinsic modulational instabilities in phase transitions beyond magnetism. |
| title | A fluctuation-free pathway for a topological magnetic phase transition |
| topic | Materials Science |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.22947 |