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Yan Zhou

Publications and source records attributed to Yan Zhou.

At least 181 records · Page 10Linked to original sources
arXiv2020

Algebraic decay of the nonadiabaticity arising through chiral spin transfer torque in magnetic domain walls with Rashba spin-orbit interaction

Spin transfer torque in a two dimensional electron gas system without space inversion symmetry was theoretically investigated by solving the Pauli-Schrödinger equation for the itinerant electrons inside magnetic domain walls. Due to the presence of the Rashba spin-orbit coupling induced by the broken inversion symmetry, the spin transfer torque is chiral and the nonadiabaticity, which is defined to measure the relative importance of the nonadiabatic, field-like torque to the adiabatic, damping-like torque, exhibits an inverse power law decay as the domain wall width is increased. This algebraic decay is much slower than the exponential decay observed for systems without the Rashba spin-orbit coupling, and may find applications in innovative design of spintronic devices utilising magnetic topological textures such as magnetic domain walls and skyrmions.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗
arXiv2020

Enhanced skyrmion motion via strip domain wall

When magnetic skyrmions move under spin orbit torque in magnetic nanowires, they experience a skyrmion Hall effect, which pushes them towards the nanowire edge where they risk being annihilated; this puts an upper limit on how fast they can be driven. However, the same magnetic multilayer harboring skyrmions can sustain a Néel-type strip domain wall along the nanowire length, potentially keeping the skyrmions separated from the edge. Here we study the interplay between current driven skyrmions and domain walls and find that they increase the annihilation current and allow the skyrmions to move faster. Based on the Thiele formalism, we confirm that the emergent longitudinal repulsive force and the modified energy landscape linked to the domain wall are responsible for the enhanced skyrmion motion. Furthermore, we identify that the longitudinal repulsive force emerges because of the broken axisymmetry in the local magnetization in front of the skyrmion. Our study uncovers key aspects in the interplay between two topological magnetic textures from different homotopy groups and may inspire new device concepts.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗
arXiv2020

Static and dynamic properties of bimerons in a frustrated ferromagnetic monolayer

Magnetic bimeron is a topological counterpart of skyrmions in in-plane magnets, which can be used as a spintronic information carrier. We report the static properties of bimerons with different topological structures in a frustrated ferromagnetic monolayer, where the bimeron structure is characterized by the vorticity $Q_{\text{v}}$ and helicity $η$. It is found that the bimeron energy increases with $Q_{\text{v}}$, and the energy of an isolated bimeron with $Q_{\text{v}}=\pm 1$ depends on $η$. We also report the dynamics of frustrated bimerons driven by the spin-orbit torques, which depend on the strength of the dampinglike and fieldlike torques. We find that the isolated bimeron with $Q_{\text{v}}=\pm 1$ can be driven into linear or elliptical motion when the spin polarization is perpendicular to the easy axis. We numerically reveal the damping dependence of the bimeron Hall angle driven by the dampinglike torque. Besides, the isolated bimeron with $Q_{\text{v}}=\pm 1$ can be driven into rotation by the dampinglike torque when the spin polarization is parallel to the easy axis. The rotation frequency is proportional to the driving current density. In addition, we numerically demonstrate the possibility of creating a bimeron state with a higher or lower topological charge by the current-driven collision and merging of bimeron states with different $Q_{\text{v}}$. Our results could be useful for understanding the bimeron physics in frustrated magnets.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗
arXiv2020

A spiking neuron constructed by the skyrmion-based spin torque nano-oscillator

Magnetic skyrmions are particle-like topological spin configurations, which can carry binary information and thus are promising building blocks for future spintronic devices. In this work, we investigate the relationship between the skyrmion dynamics and the characteristics of injected current in a skyrmion-based spin torque nano-oscillator, where the excitation source is introduced from a point nano-contact at the center of the nanodisk. It is found that the skyrmion will move away from the center of the nanodisk if it is driven by a spin-polarized current; however, it will return to the initial position in the absence of stimulus. Therefore, we propose a skyrmion-based artificial spiking neuron, which can effectively implement the leaky-integrate-fire operation. We study the feasibility of the skyrmion-based spiking neuron by using micromagnetic simulations. Our results may provide useful guidelines for building future magnetic neural networks with ultra-high density and ultra-low energy consumption.

physics.app-ph↗
arXiv2020

Cluster structures and subfans in scattering diagrams

We give more precise statements of Fock-Goncharov duality conjecture for cluster varieties parametrizing ${\rm SL}_{2}/{\rm PGL}_{2}$-local systems on the once punctured torus. Then we prove these statements. Along the way, using distinct subfans in the scattering diagram, we produce an example of a cluster variety with two non-equivalent cluster structures. To overcome the technical difficulty of infinite non-cluster wall-crossing in the scattering diagram, we introduce quiver folding into the machinery of scattering diagrams and give a quotient construction of scattering diagrams.

math.AG↗
arXiv2020

An efficient Gehan-type estimation for the accelerated failure time model with clustered and censored data

In medical studies, the collected covariates usually contain underlying outliers. For clustered /longitudinal data with censored observations, the traditional Gehan-type estimator is robust to outliers existing in response but sensitive to outliers in the covariate domain, and it also ignores the within-cluster correlations. To take account of within-cluster correlations, varying cluster sizes, and outliers in covariates, we propose weighted Gehan-type estimating functions for parameter estimation in the accelerated failure time model for clustered data. We provide the asymptotic properties of the resulting estimators and carry out simulation studies to evaluate the performance of the proposed method under a variety of realistic settings. The simulation results demonstrate that the proposed method is robust to the outliers existing in the covariate domain and lead to much more efficient estimators when a strong within-cluster correlation exists. Finally, the proposed method is applied to a medical dataset and more reliable and convincing results are hence obtained.

stat.ME↗
arXiv2020

Topological damping Rashba spin orbit torque in ballistic magnetic domain walls

Rashba spin orbit torque derived from the broken inversion symmetry at ferromagnet/heavy metal interfaces has potential application in spintronic devices. In conventional description of the precessional and damping components of the Rashba spin orbit torque in magnetization textures, the decomposition coefficients are assumed to be independent of the topology of the underlying structure. Contrary to this common wisdom, for Schrödinger electrons trespassing ballistically across a magnetic domain wall, we found that the decomposition coefficient of the damping component is determined by the topology of the domain wall. The resultant damping Rashba spin orbit torque is protected by the topology of the underlying magnetic domain wall and robust against small deviations from the ideal domain wall profile. Our identification of a topological damping Rashba spin orbit torque component in magnetic domain walls will help to understand experiments on current driven domain wall motion in ferromagnet/heavy metal systems with broken inversion symmetry and to facilitate its utilization in innovative device designs.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗
arXiv2020

Second-Scale Coherence Measured at the Quantum Projection Noise Limit with Hundreds of Molecular Ions

Cold molecules provide an excellent platform for quantum information, cold chemistry, and precision measurement. Certain molecules have enhanced sensitivity to beyond Standard Model physics, such as the electron's electric dipole moment ($e$EDM). Molecular ions are easily trappable and are therefore particularly attractive for precision measurements where sensitivity scales with interrogation time. Here, we demonstrate a spin precession measurement with second-scale coherence at the quantum projection noise (QPN) limit with hundreds of trapped molecular ions, chosen for their sensitivity to the $e$EDM rather than their amenability to state control and readout. Orientation-resolved resonant photodissociation allows us to simultaneously measure two quantum states with opposite $e$EDM sensitivity, reaching the QPN limit and fully exploiting the high count rate and long coherence.

physics.atom-ph↗
arXiv2020

Dynamics of an elliptical ferromagnetic skyrmion driven by the spin-orbit torque

Magnetic skyrmion is a promising building block for developing information storage and computing devices. It can be stabilized in a ferromagnetic thin film with the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI). The moving ferromagnetic skyrmion may show the skyrmion Hall effect, that is, the skyrmion shows a transverse shift when it is driven by a spin current. Here, we numerically and theoretically study the current-driven dynamics of a ferromagnetic nanoscale skyrmion in the presence of the anisotropic DMI, where the skyrmion has an elliptical shape. The skyrmion Hall effect of the elliptical skyrmion is investigated. It is found that the skyrmion Hall angle can be controlled by tuning the profile of elliptical skyrmion. Our results reveal the relation between the skyrmion shape and the skyrmion Hall effect, which could be useful for building skyrmion-based spintronic devices with preferred skyrmion Hall angle. Also, our results provide a method for the minimization of skyrmion Hall angle for applications based on in-line motion of skyrmions.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗
arXiv2019

Current-Induced Dynamics and Chaos of Antiferromagnetic Bimerons

A magnetic bimeron is a topologically non-trivial spin texture carrying an integer topological charge, which can be regarded as the counterpart of skyrmion in easy-plane magnets. The controllable creation and manipulation of bimerons are crucial for practical applications based on topological spin textures. Here, we analytically and numerically study the dynamics of an antiferromagnetic bimeron driven by a spin current. Numerical simulations demonstrate that the spin current can create an isolated bimeron in the antiferromagnetic thin film via the damping-like spin torque. The spin current can also effectively drive the antiferromagnetic bimeron without a transverse drift. The steady motion of an antiferromagnetic bimeron is analytically derived and is in good agreement with the simulation results. Also, we find that the alternating-current-induced motion of the antiferromagnetic bimeron can be described by the Duffing equation due to the presence of the nonlinear boundary-induced force. The associated chaotic behavior of the bimeron is analyzed in terms of the Lyapunov exponents. Our results demonstrate the inertial dynamics of an antiferromagnetic bimeron, and may provide useful guidelines for building future bimeron-based spintronic devices.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗
arXiv2019

Current-Induced Helicity Reversal of a Single Skyrmionic Bubble Chain in a Nanostructured Frustrated Magnet

Helicity indicates the in-plane magnetic-moment swirling direction of a skyrmionic configuration. The ability to reverse the helicity of a skyrmionic bubble via purely electrical means has been predicted in frustrated magnetic systems, however its experimental observation has remained challenging. Here, we experimentally demonstrate the current-driven helicity reversal of the skyrmionic bubble in a nanostructured frustrated Fe3Sn2 magnet. The critical current density required to trigger the helicity reversal is 109 - 1010 A/m2, with a corresponding pulse-width varying from 1 μs to 100 ns. Computational simulations reveal that both the pinning effect and dipole-dipole interaction play a crucial role in the helicity-reversal process.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗
arXiv2019

Skyrmion-electronics: Writing, deleting, reading and processing magnetic skyrmions toward spintronic applications

The field of magnetic skyrmions has been actively investigated across a wide range of topics during the last decades. In this topical review, we mainly review and discuss key results and findings in skyrmion research since the first experimental observation of magnetic skyrmions in 2009. We particularly focus on the theoretical, computational and experimental findings and advances that are directly relevant to the spintronic applications based on magnetic skyrmions, i.e. their writing, deleting, reading and processing driven by magnetic field, electric current and thermal energy. We then review several potential applications including information storage, logic computing gates and non-conventional devices such as neuromorphic computing devices. Finally, we discuss possible future research directions on magnetic skyrmions, which also cover rich topics on other topological textures such as antiskyrmions and bimerons in antiferromagnets and frustrated magnets.

physics.app-ph↗
arXiv2019

Magnetic skyrmion artificial synapse for neuromorphic computing

Since the experimental discovery of magnetic skyrmions achieved one decade ago, there have been significant efforts to bring the virtual particles into all-electrical fully functional devices, inspired by their fascinating physical and topological properties suitable for future low-power electronics. Here, we experimentally demonstrate such a device: electrically-operating skyrmion-based artificial synaptic device designed for neuromorphic computing. We present that controlled current-induced creation, motion, detection and deletion of skyrmions in ferrimagnetic multilayers can be harnessed in a single device at room temperature to imitate the behaviors of biological synapses. Using simulations, we demonstrate that such skyrmion-based synapses could be used to perform neuromorphic pattern-recognition computing using handwritten recognition data set, reaching to the accuracy of ~89 percents, comparable to the software-based training accuracy of ~94 percents. Chip-level simulation then highlights the potential of skyrmion synapse compared to existing technologies. Our findings experimentally illustrate the basic concepts of skyrmion-based fully functional electronic devices while providing a new building block in the emerging field of spintronics-based bio-inspired computing.

physics.app-ph↗
arXiv2019

Magnetic skyrmion spectrum under voltage excitation and its linear modulation

Magnetic skyrmions are topological quasiparticles with great potential for applications in future information storage and processing devices because of their nanoscale size, high stability, and large velocity. Recently, the high-frequency properties of skyrmions have been explored for magnon nanodevices. Here we systematically study the dynamics of an isolated skyrmion under voltage excitation through the voltage-controlled magnetic anisotropy effect in a circular thin film. A theoretical model considering the demagnetization energy, which has often been neglected or treated superficially in previous skyrmion research but is demonstrated to have importance in determining the skyrmion dynamic state, is developed. With our model, the periodic oscillation of the skyrmion radius can be solved numerically with similar precision compared to micromgnetic simulations, and the characteristic frequency of the skyrmion breathing can be determined analytically with greater precision than previous studies. Furthermore, we find that the breathing skyrmion can be analogized as a modulator by investigating its linear modulation functionality under sinusoidal-form voltage excitation. Different from the conventional modulation system with complex CMOS circuits, this skyrmion modulator device integrates with both the modulation and carrier wave generation functionality, thus showing greater convenience and efficiency in applications. Our findings can provide useful guidance for both theoretical and experimental skyrmions research as well as the development of skyrmion-based magnonic devices with significant potential applicability in future communication system.

physics.app-ph↗
arXiv2019

Scaling of the Rashba spin-orbit torque in magnetic domain walls

Spin-orbit torque in magnetic domain walls was investigated by solving the Pauli-Schrödinger equation for the itinerant electrons. The Rashba interaction considered is derived from the violation of inversion symmetry at interfaces between ferromagnets and heavy metals. In equilibrium, the Rashba spin-orbit interaction gives rise to a torque corresponding to the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction. When there is a current flowing, the spin-orbit torque experienced by the itinerant electrons in short domain walls has both field-like and damping-like components. However, when the domain wall width is increased, the damping-like component, which is the counterpart of the non-adiabatic spin transfer torque, decreases rapidly at the domain wall center. In contrast to the non-adiabatic spin transfer torque, the damping-like spin-orbit torque does not approach to zero far away from the domain wall center, even in the adiabatic limit. The scattering of spin-up and spin-down wave functions, which is caused by the Rashba spin-orbit interaction and the spatial variation of magnetization profile in the domain wall, gives rise to the finite damping-like spin-orbit torque.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗
arXiv2019

Current-Driven Dynamics of Frustrated Skyrmions in a Synthetic Antiferromagnetic Bilayer

We report the current-driven dynamics of frustrated skyrmions in an antiferromagnetically exchange coupled bilayer system, where the bilayer skyrmion consists of two monolayer skyrmions with opposite skyrmion numbers $Q$. We show that the in-plane current-driven bilayer skyrmion moves in a straight path, while the out-of-plane current-driven bilayer skyrmion moves in a circular path. It is found that the in-plane current-driven mobility of a bilayer skyrmion is much better than the monolayer one at a large ratio of $β/α$, where $α$ and $β$ denote the damping parameter and non-adiabatic spin transfer torque strength, respectively. Besides, the out-of-plane current-driven mobility of a bilayer skyrmion is much better than the monolayer one when $α$ is small. We also reveal that one bilayer skyrmion (consisting of monolayer skyrmions with $Q=\pm 2$) can be separated to two bilayer skyrmions (consisting of monolayer skyrmions with $Q=\pm 1$) driven by an out-of-plane current. Our results may be useful for designing skyrmionic devices based on frustrated multilayer magnets.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗
arXiv2019

Manipulation of magnetic skyrmions in a locally modified synthetic antiferromagnetic racetrack

In skyrmion-based racetrack memories, the information encoded by skyrmions may be destroyed due to the skyrmion Hall effect, which can be surmounted by using synthetic antiferromagnetic racetracks. Hence, the manipulation of skyrmions in synthetic antiferromagnetic racetracks is important for practical applications. Here, we computationally study the interaction between a pair of skyrmions and a locally modified region in a synthetic antiferromagnetic racetrack, where the perpendicular magnetic anisotropy or thickness is locally adjusted to be different from that of the rest region of the racetrack. It is found that the skyrmions can be attracted, repelled, and even trapped by the locally modified region in a controllable manner. Besides, we demonstrate that the skyrmion location can be precisely determined by the locally modified region. The possible manipulation of skyrmions by utilizing locally modified regions in a synthetic antiferromagnetic racetrack may be useful for future skyrmion-based applications.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗