Bulk and surface topological indices for a skyrmion string: current-driven dynamics of skyrmion string in stepped samples

Abstract

The magnetic skyrmion is a topological magnetic vortex, and its topological nature is characterized by an index called skyrmion number which is a mapping of the magnetic moments defined on a two-dimensional space to a unit sphere. In three-dimensions, a skyrmion, i.e., a vortex penetrating though the magnet naturally forms a string, which terminates at the surfaces of the magnet or in the bulk. For such a string, the topological indices, which control its topological stability are less trivial. Here, we study theoretically, in terms of numerical simulation, the dynamics of current-driven motion of a skyrmion string in a film sample with the step edges on the surface. In particular, skyrmion–antiskyrmion pair is generated by driving a skyrmion string through the side step with an enough height. We find that the topological indices relevant to the stability are the followings; (1) skyrmion number along the developed surface, and (2) the monopole charge in the bulk defined as the integral over the surface enclosing a singular magnetic configuration. As long as the magnetic configuration is slowly varying, the former is conserved while its changes is associated with nonzero monopole charge. The skyrmion number and the monoplole charge offer a coherent understanding of the stability of the topological magnetic texture and the nontrivial dynamics of skyrmion strings.