Current-driven dynamics of skyrmions

Abstract

Skyrmion was originally proposed in 1960s by Tony Skyrme as a topological solution of the nonlinear sigma model to account for the stability of hadrons in nuclear physics. Recently realization of skyrmions was indeed discov- ered in ferromagnets with chiral crystal symmetry as nanometric vortex-like spin textures with a quantized topological invariant. It has turned out that the magnetic skyrmions show intriguing dynamical and transport phenomena through coupling to the electric currents and/or the magnon currents. In this chapter, recent theoretical studies on the current-driven dynamics of magnetic skyrmions are discussed.