Mechanisms for magnetic skyrmion catalysis and topological superconductivity

Yun-Peng Huang; Panagiotis Kotetes

doi:10.1103/PhysRevResearch.5.013125

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Mechanisms for magnetic skyrmion catalysis and topological superconductivity

Yun-Peng Huang, Panagiotis Kotetes

DOI 10.1103/PhysRevResearch.5.013125 · Physical Review Research

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Abstract

We propose an alternative route to stabilize magnetic skyrmion textures which does not require Dzyaloshinkii-Moriya interactions, magnetic anisotropy, or an external Zeeman field. Instead, it solely relies on the emergence of flux in the system's ground state. We discuss scenarios that lead to a nonzero flux and identify the magnetic skyrmion ground states which become accessible in its presence. Moreover, we explore the chiral superconductors obtained for the surface states of a topological crystalline insulator when two types of magnetic skyrmion crystals coexist with a pairing gap. Our work opens perspectives for engineering topological superconductivity in a minimal fashion and promises to unearth functional topological materials and devices which may be more compatible with electrostatic control than the currently explored skyrmion-Majorana platforms.